A Force Unleashed
by darkstorm5000
Summary: The X-Men Past, Present, and Future band together, as the government-sanctioned Project: Wideawake goes online with it's ultimate weapon-The Sentinels! (Contains both classic couples, and unlikely pairings). Final Chapter Added.
1. World Tour at an End

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.

This story is a continuation of my two previous fics, A Force to be Reckoned With and Land of the Silver Sun. While reading those stories will probably make this one more interesting, I think everyone should be able to follow what's going on in this one, whether you've read the other two or not.

----------------

Chapter 1- World Tour at an End

----------------

A little more than seventy-two hours had passed since the devastating attack on, perhaps, one of the world's top research facilities located on Muir Island, Scotland. What made it even more alarming, particularly to the mutant community, was the fact that large mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels had been deployed there.

Until a few days ago, Sentinels had been regarded as nothing more than urban legend. Now, those individuals that lobbied both in favor of and against enacting Mutant Registration laws fully understood that the very notion of anyone using Sentinel technology could potentially polarize both sides, and would obliterate any common ground that they had managed to find thus far.

After hearing the news of what had happened, the residents at the Xavier School for the Gifted in Salem Center, New York were still reeling from the aftermath and implications of the attack. They were bothered by what it meant in the grand scheme of things, but also were upset because this event had hit them close to home. They had learned that a small group of students and teachers from the school were on the island with the school's founder, Professor Charles Xavier, and were involved in a battle with the Sentinels that seemingly ended in a draw.

While a number of the mechanized machines were damaged and destroyed during the encounter, the X-Men code-named Storm, Shadowcat, Colossus, and part-time X-Man Banshee, received injuries as well. Despite fighting as hard as they could, the small band of X-Men were unable to prevent the Sentinels from spiriting away the director and founder of the Muir Island research facility, Dr. Moira MacTaggert. They also were unable to prevent Professor Xavier from being seriously hurt during the melee, where the injuries he received left him without the use of his telepathic abilities.

Two other residents of the school, who were half a world away on an adventure of their own in the nation of Japan, decided to immediately return home upon hearing what had happened. Their return was now signaled by the roar of a medium-sized motorcycle, as it pulled off of Greymalkin Lane and into the school. Following behind the motorcycle was a taxi-cab, which soon came to a stop on the driveway in front of the large and venerable mansion, early in the afternoon.

Also arriving with the duo was a new, and intriguing addition to their ranks.

"Never thought I'd miss this place." The X-Man code-named Wolverine, but who most simply called Logan said, as he got off of the blue motorcycle that he had ridden from the airport back to the estate, "Then again, I never thought I'd ever have a place to miss."

"I can un'erstand why you miss it." The young man named Remy Lebeau, also called Gambit replied, as he slowly stepped out of the backseat of the taxi that had followed Logan, "When you tol' me you lived at a school, dis wasn't quite what I had in mind."

"If the outside impresses you, wait 'til you see the inside." The young lady who had been named Marie D'Acanto at birth, but who mainly went by the name of Rogue answered, as she also emerged from the backseat of the taxi.

While Logan went over to pay the taxi-driver, Rogue and Remy went to the trunk of the cab to get their luggage. Remy was only able to pick up one bag, due to the fact that his right arm was in a sling. He had been wounded during a fight that he, Rogue, and Wolverine had been involved in back in Japan. So, Rogue removed the rest of their belongings and sat them down next to the curb. As she did, a voice from the front door of the mansion caused Rogue to look up.

"What, did you think you guys were gonna sneak up on us or somethin'? You should've called us when your flight got in, we would've come 'n picked you up." The teenaged girl named Jubilation Lee, although she would tell you in a heartbeat to just call her Jubilee said, as she walked over to give Rogue a hug.

"Ah know, but can't a girl surprise her best friend every once in a while?" Rogue replied.

"I think we've had enough surprises for a while, thank-you-very-much." Jubilee smiled, as she referred to the events of the last few days.

As the taxi left, Jubilee took notice of the man standing next to Rogue with his arm in a sling.

"So, you startin' some new fashion trend I haven't caught onto yet?" Jubilee asked Remy, as she looked at his arm and then back up at him.

"Naw, just got hurt doin' my good deed of de day is all." Remy answered, referring to the bullet he took saving Rogue's life.

After Remy made that statement, he then reached out to take hold of Jubilee's hand, raising it up to kiss it.

"Remy Lebeau. It's a pleasure t'meet you."

While Jubilee mockingly fanned herself with her left hand in response to the Louisiana native's greeting, Logan made a comment of his own.

"You've got alot of new folks to meet around here, Cajun. You keep that up, and your lips're gonna be all puckered out." Logan smirked, as he untied his belongings that were strapped to the back of the motorcycle.

"Trust me, these lips never get tired, Mon Ami." Remy boasted.

"Really?" Rogue said with a slight laugh as she looked up at Remy, who was still standing beside her.

"Really, _Chere_." Remy smirked, "Who knows, maybe someday I'll get t'show you."

Then, almost out of the blue, Logan made what seemed like an unusual statement.

"You can come out now, the coast is clear." Logan said, as he looked downward and continued to get his things off of the bike.

Rogue, Remy, and Jubilee looked at each other and then at Logan, wondering what he was talking about. Logan responded by slightly nodding his head over and upwards towards one grouping of trees, which were plentiful around the estate. Everyone instantly looked up into the trees, and after scanning the dark area around the branches above for a short time, Jubilee and Rogue soon looked back down. But, Remy had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"What're we lookin' for?" Remy asked Rogue.

"Oh, it's just Nightcrawler." Rogue answered.

"What's dat, like a spider or somethin'?" Remy inquired.

"No, it's like a person." Jubilee responded, "A person whose idea of a good time is playin' hide-and-seek in the bushes. You can c'mon down now, 'Crawler."

Just then, a large and thick puff of black smoke appeared in front of the small group. Once the smoke dissipated, what many outside of the school would consider to be an unusual looking individual stood before them.

"I was just sitting up there, waiting for the cab driver to leave. But, I hesitated to come down because I did not want to frighten your new friend." Kurt Wagner, who had proudly donned the moniker of 'The Incredible Nightcrawler' in the Munich circus where he had grown up, said to them through his heavy German accent.

"_Homme_, I come from New Orleans. I seen a lot stranger lookin' folks than you." Remy replied, trying to put Kurt at ease.

"First time I've seen you in fancy duds like that." Logan said, as he now commented on the dress shirt, tie, and dress slacks that Kurt was wearing, "They look good on ya."

"_Danke_. One of my classes had just ended, and I came directly from there when the mansion's security system signaled your arrival. I thought I would be the first to welcome you home, but it appears that somebody beat me to it." Kurt said, as he looked in Jubilee's direction.

"If you snooze, you lose, buddy." Jubilee responded with a boastful grin. Kurt then turned back towards Logan.

"By the way that you spoke before leaving, I did not expect your return to be so soon." Kurt told him.

"Neither did I. When I was watchin' the news report over in Japan, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out somethin' major's brewin'. So, don't go thinkin' I cut my vacation short on your account." Logan joked.

"Admit it, you cannot get enough of me." Kurt bantered with him, as he sat back on his tail using it for support.

"If that's what gets you through the night, Elf. I just figured if someone wants a fight with us, then my particular skills in violence 'n mayhem might come in handy." Logan responded, as he finally removed his duffle bag and a black case that contained the Honor Blade of the Clan Yashida, from the back of the motorcycle. He then looked up from the bike and over at Kurt.

"Say, why don't cha come with me. While I put this ride up, you can fill me in on what's been goin' on." Logan said, as he and Kurt began to walk alongside the bike, heading towards the garage in the back of the estate.

While Logan and Kurt left for the garage, Jubilee, Rogue, and Remy were surprised when another voice now made his presence known, as he stood at the front door of the mansion.

"Hi, Rogue." The voice said to her.

Rogue looked over to see none other than Bobby Drake talking to her, and the moment that she had been dreading since stepping on Mariko Yashida's private jet had finally arrived.

Rogue had gone with Logan to the other side of the world a few weeks ago to escape, and to try and forget the hurt of Bobby breaking things off with her. But, seeing him now and looking into that beautiful face of his, all of that hurt instantly came back. Rogue didn't know how to handle it, and had no idea what to say to Bobby.

So, she didn't say anything.

"C'mon, your shoulder must be killin' you after all of this traveling. Ah'll go find somewhere for you to lie down, until Ah find out what room your gonna be staying in." Rogue said to Remy, as she grabbed their things, including the Katana sword that Remy had given her as a gift. Rogue then looked over to Jubilee.

"Jube, can you grab his other bag for me."

Rogue then walked into the mansion past Bobby in a hurry, only giving him a brief and longing glance. Bobby knew it was what he probably deserved for the pain that he had caused Rogue, but it still hurt nonetheless. Then, Remy came up trailing behind Rogue.

Remy and Bobby briefly made eye-contact with each other. Bobby's ice blue eyes looked straight into Remy's red-on-black one's for a few seconds. Then, Remy continued on as well.

Jubilee then came up the steps to the front door and looked at Bobby, but she had no idea what to say to him.

While Jubilee went in behind Rogue and Remy, Bobby stood there thinking about how much he must've hurt Rogue, if she wouldn't even talk to him now. At that same moment, another teenaged couple at the school were currently not talking to each other.

But in their case, it was for other, very different reasons.

----------------

"**Mmmmmmm…**"

…Was the barely audible sound coming from inside of one of the rec-rooms in the mansion, right before one of the two individuals in there spoke.

"Why'd you stop? Is everything alright?" Kitty Pryde, who was appropriately enough code-named Shadowcat asked. The youngest member of the X-Men's junior squad was sitting on a sofa in the room, after a very long and passionate lip-lock had just abruptly ended.

"Everything is fine, Katya." Piotr Rasputin, the armored X-Man code-named Colossus replied, as he sat next to Kitty with his arm around her waist, holding her much smaller frame close to him, "And no, I did not cut my lip on your braces again, if that is what you are wondering."

"Who would've thought you'd be listing expensive dental wear as your only known Achilles Heel." Kitty smiled, as she teased him, "And this whole time I thought you were supposed to be 'Mr. Indestructible', Peter Rasputin."

Although Piotr was his name, the strongest member of the X-Men's junior squad also went by the American pronunciation of his name, Peter. He did so mainly to keep from having to hear some of his fellow students butcher his first name.

"When I turn solid, then perhaps. But the rest of the time, your mouth is more dangerous by far." Peter jokingly said in response.

Kitty then looked at Peter with one eyebrow raised.

"The way that last sentence came out, made it sound soooo wrong. It's a good thing that I know you don't have a dirty mind, or anything." Kitty pointed out, as she lightly tapped him on the nose.

"What makes you think that I do not?" Peter challenged her.

"Well, for starters, you blush anytime someone just mentions the word…'sex'." Kitty responded, putting extra emphasis on that last word. She then giggled a little, as she saw Peter's face turn slightly red for a fleeting instant, before she spoke again.

"Then again, you don't get all beet red like you used to."

"It must be due to your corrupting influence." Peter smirked again.

Kitty then leaned in really close to Peter, with their faces just a few inches apart.

"I guess a big, strong superman like you'll just have to do something about my menacing mouth, and its bad influence." Kitty said as she continued to smile, while she looked up at Peter with her deep, brown eyes.

"There is no way that I could touch you, if you did not wish it." Peter quipped with her, as he referred to her phasing powers, "So, you have little to be afraid of."

Suddenly, Kitty's huge smile turned into a very serious look, before she spoke again.

"I'm always scared when I'm with you." Kitty said in a hushed, and somewhat raspy voice, as she ran her petite hand down the chiseled features of his face, before she moved in and kissed Peter with every ounce of emotion in her being. Peter in turn, put both of his massive arms around her and squeezed her gently, all the while being cautious about his own strength.

Kitty and Peter stayed in their intimate embrace for more than a few minutes, before they were joined by an unexpected third-party.

"**Ahem**…"

As the voice lightly coughed, it startled Kitty and Peter. Peter instantly sprang to his feet, his face dotted with smudged lip-stick. Peter's sudden and unexpected movement caused Kitty to fall back, and accidentally phase through the sofa that they had been sitting in.

"Oh, um…, Hi, Mr. Summers." Kitty said, as she stood back up behind the sofa and right in front of her teacher, as she managed to regain her composure.

"We were just, uh--" Peter started, before he was interrupted.

"--We were just studying." Kitty finished.

Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, the field leader and tactician extraordinaire of the X-Men, couldn't help but put his hours on top of hours worth of training to use. He almost immediately noticed that there wasn't a book anywhere near Kitty or Peter. Normally Scott would have, at the very least, pointed out that fact to them. But, he could tell that they were both a little embarrassed at him finding them in such a private moment, so he decided to just let the subject drop.

"I was just passing by, on my way outside. The security sensors detected Rogue, Logan, and another unidentified individual on the premises." Scott told them.

"They're back? Cool!" Kitty said, with excitement in her voice.

"But, I am glad that I ran across you two. I hadn't had a chance to talk to you since you, and everyone else, returned from Muir Island last night. The Professor, Ororo, Hank, Sean, and myself have been pretty busy downstairs, going over what happened over there and planning what our next move will be." Scott informed them, "I just wanted to commend you two for the bravery that you showed in facing such enormous danger."

"Heck, all I did was get out of the way, before one of those 'out of control' science fair projects blasted me straight into tomorrow." Kitty replied, as Scott noticed that she still had a small bandage on her forehead as a souvenir of the battle.

"You said that you have been working on a plan. Have you discovered where these Sentinels have taken Dr. MacTaggert?" Peter asked, as he stood with his arms folded in front of him and looking directly into Scott's ruby quartz eyeglasses.

"Not yet. But, I'll be going into more details about what we have learned and what we intend to do, when we gather everybody together for a briefing in the morning." Scott answered.

With that Scott was about to leave the rec-room, to find someone else that he needed to have a word with. But, he suddenly remembered the other reason why he had needed to speak to Peter, in particular.

"Peter," Scott started, "Forge is flying in tonight from Dallas to take a look at those Sentinel components that were brought back on the Blackbird. Would you mind moving them out into an open area in the hangar a little later, so that he can perform a more thorough assessment?"

"Of course." Peter replied, as Scott then turned and finally walked out of the rec-room.

As soon as they thought Scott was gone, Kitty and Peter went to sit back down on the sofa together.

"Where were we?" Kitty asked with a big smile, as she looked over at Peter.

"Nearly getting ourselves thrown out of school." Peter replied, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, we might as well go for some extra credit, while we still can." Kitty told Peter, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled up close to him.

"Katya, have you lost your min--" Peter started to say, but stopped when the lips on the most dangerous mouth in the mansion interrupted him, kissing him once again.

As Kitty and Peter were in the midst of another passionate embrace, unknown to them, Scott could still hear them as he walked down the corridor. Scott couldn't help but think back to a time, in the not too distant past, when a young, red-haired co-ed totally caught her classmate with visual difficulties off-guard, with a display of affection in a vaguely similar situation. As he continued to walk to the back of the mansion and reminisce on days long gone by, a barely noticeable smile soon came across the face of Scott Summers.

------------------

In another part of the estate, Kurt and Logan had finally made it to the garage, where Logan went to park the bike inside.

"...That is about all that we have learned so far." Kurt said, as he walked behind Logan, who was pushing the bike into the garage in front of him, "We have some very strong suspicions as to the originators of those monstrosities, but nothing we can confirm at this point."

"I can give you one good guess as to who's probably connected to all of this. You do remember Stryker, and what he tried to do to every mutant on the planet." Logan said, as he took a cigar out of the pocket inside of his jacket and lit it.

"I will never forget." Kurt replied, as memories of his own manipulations at the hands of the Colonel swiftly came back.

"C'mon, let's go in and get us a couple of beers." Logan said to Kurt.

"Logan, you know that I rarely drink." Kurt told him.

"Pardon me, 'Saint Kurt'." Logan smirked, as he took the cigar out of his mouth for a moment and prepared to correct himself, "Then, let's go get me a couple of beers."

Kurt and Logan then began to walk from the garage back to the mansion, when someone appeared a few feet from them.

"Cyclops." Logan said simply, as his demeanor went from laid back and joking, to now being far more serious and a little tense.

"Welcome back, Logan." Scott replied, as he stood in front of him showing his, almost always, serious demeanor.

"I assume you came out here for these." Logan said, as he pulled the keys to the motorcycle, which actually belonged to Scott, out of the pocket of his jacket and tossed them through the air, "Your bike's all filled up."

While Kurt stopped to talk with Scott for a moment, Logan continued on to the house with his duffle bag over his shoulder and the important black case in one of his hands. He stopped, however, when Scott spoke to him again.

"Logan…" Scott said.

"Yeah?" Logan replied gruffly, as he turned around slightly to look at Scott.

"Why don't you hold onto these?" Scott said, as he tossed the keys back to Logan.

Logan grabbed the keys with his free hand and looked at Scott for a moment, surprised by the gesture. Then without a response, Logan continued on inside.

----------------------

Later that night, as everyone was settling in, Jubilee, Rogue, and Kitty were busy getting caught up on everything that had happened to them over the last few weeks.

Rogue told them about her experience in facing off against the ninjas of the Hand and the Yakuza mafia in Japan, two of the deadliest groups of assassins and killers in the world. Rogue also described and gave them a better understanding of the woman that Logan fell in love with over there, Lady Mariko Yashida.

Kitty talked about how she and Peter shared their first kiss together next to Lake Baikal in Siberia, where they finally revealed how they each felt. Kitty also went into further detail about what it was like coming face to face with the cold and inhuman eyes of a Sentinel robot on Muir Island.

Jubilee told the group about how the X-Men that were left home tracked down Alison Blaire, whom they believed to be in grave danger after members of the Brotherhood started a melee at her concert at Madison Square Garden. She also described how all hell broke loose, appropriately enough, when they finally located her in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York.

"It's still unbelievable." Rogue said, as she sat on her bed in her and Jubilee's room, "Alison Blaire, a real life superstar, is actually livin' here."

"It has all the makings of the next big reality show." Kitty remarked, as she was leaning back in a chair by a desk in Rogue and Jubilee's room, "Picture it, 'World famous entertainer moves into a small private school in upstate New York.' It'll make America say, 'Paris…who'?"

"But, you're forgettin' one thing. I don't think America is ready to see The Superhero Adventures of the Kids from Mutant High in their living rooms on a weekly basis." Jubilee told them, as she laid on her bed. Jubilee was laying there and staring straight up at the ceiling, when she quickly blew a large bubble with her chewing gum, which loudly exploded.

"Ah guess that, along with all of the other things that go on around here, would more likely land us on America's Most Wanted." Rogue commented.

"Speaking of being wanted, what's the deal with that major hottie you brought back here with you?" Jubilee, who was still staring at the ceiling, asked Rogue.

"Remy just wanted to make a fresh start from his old life, and agreed to come back here to help us out." Rogue answered.

"He looks like he's already helped enough. I passed him earlier in the hallway, and he was walking like he's still getting over from being run over by a train or something." Kitty stated, as she had only briefly seen Remy walking gingerly by, with his arm in a sling.

"Actually, he got shot savin' my life." Rogue informed them.

"I have gotta learn what your secret is." Jubilee said, as she finally sat up on her bed.

"What're you talkin' about?" Rogue asked, as she looked over to Jubilee's side of the room.

"You've got guys climbin' national monuments, jumpin' out of airplanes, and takin' bullets for you, for cryin' out loud. That's, what I'm talkin' about." Jubilee answered, as she referred to Logan, Kurt, and now Remy's actions in risking their own safety to help Rogue.

"Just dumb luck, Ah suppose." Rogue responded.

"That's more than just 'dumb luck'. Unless of course, you're the President." Kitty joked with her.

"Yeah, that's it, a mutant with 'political' powers. Watch the world tremble before me." Rogue equally responded.

The three girls all laughed for a moment at Rogue's response, and then Kitty spoke again.

"Well, I hate to break up our little gossip session, but there's some things I need to take care of before it gets too late." Kitty said, as she stood up from the chair that she had been sitting in, and started towards the door of the bedroom.

"Tell Peter I said Hi, since I'm sure that's where you're off to in such a hurry." Jubilee teased her, "When you say goodnight, just don't forget to leave his room or anything, 'Hot-lips'."

"Shut-Up..." Kitty simply called out, as she went down the hallway. While Peter's bedroom wasn't the destination where Kitty was off to, she figured it would be a waste of time to go back and try to convince Jubilee of that fact.

"You just reminded me, Ah need to go see how Remy is doin'." Rogue said to Jubilee, as she got up from her bed and headed towards the hallway as well.

"Well, since I'm the only one around here with a boyfriend that actually lives at a different address, I guess I'll just zone out here for a while." Jubilee said, in the now emptied room, as she put the headphones plugged into her MP3 player over her ears, laid back, and turned the volume all the way up.

--------------------

Next Chapter: The X-Men get a brief history lesson on the Sentinels, as they get a better understanding of what they're going up against…

--------------------

-A/N: Special Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter of A Force to be Reckoned With.

**Freelancer**- Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the Professor/Ororo moment, I thought it would be interesting to see those two talking on a more personal level.

**Lucas'sgirl**- I'm not sure about it being a trilogy, I'll just keep writing until I run out of ideas. It just seemed to make more sense to start a whole new story, since I was ending the first two. I agree with you about Kiotr, and since you feel so strongly, I think you're gonna **really** like the first chapter of this story.

**Navi-Zero**- Well, you don't have to wait much longer…

**MoonlightPhoenix3**- Glad you like where this heading. As far as Juggernaut, what you said is the main reason that I haven't used him yet. When I do, I want it to be more than him just mindlessly running amuck somewhere.

**TheDreamerLady**- I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and are looking forward to this next one.

-A/N: Special Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter of Land of the Silver Sun.

**Moon Comix**- With Gambit in the mix, the X-Men can't help but be changed. This next story is a combination/continuation of my first two, so I hope you want to check it out.

**Star-of-Chaos**- I don't think it'll be that bad…hopefully…

**Lucas'sgirl**- Lucky you, you get to be the only reviewer I respond to twice. I thought the Logan/Remy moment at the end pretty much told Remy where Logan stood, and gave Remy fair warning. As far as the Bobby/Rogue/Remy situation, I think that may be a potential powder keg just ready to go off.

**Rogue Lockheart**- Glad you love it, this next one is coming as fast as I can type it out.

**Angel of The Fallen Stars**- Yeah, I think you'll see that Bobby definitely still has some feelings for Rogue. With her and Remy becoming so close, its bound to stir up all kinds of interesting situations between the three of them.

**enchantedlight**- Glad you liked it.

**ishandahalf**- I'm happy you liked the Logan and Mariko farewell scene, I thought it was probably one of my better one's. Yeah, with Remy along for the ride, it'll be interesting to see how he gets along with all of the other, different personalities at the mansion.

**Episodic**- You're not giving Remy much credit, to think he'd give up that easily. The Sentinels are in hiding right now, but they'll be back out in the open soon enough. As far as Carol Danvers, I hadn't really thought about it. But, there's no telling what ending up with unexpected powers and memories on a permanent basis would do to a person, even someone as 'happy-go-lucky' as movie-Rogue is, so you never know…

**Jean1**- I'm glad you liked the ending, I wrote it that way because Mariko and Logan's story is far from being over. Yeah, I see that I obviously mis-understood your comment (as I hang my head in embarrassment). I agree with what you wrote about how their relationship would function, you could pretty much see that with the way Logan left their adopted daughter to live with Mariko in the comics. I also agree about the Rogue/Logan stories, I think Ororo's little comment about Rogue's 'crush' at the end of X1, inadvertently gave a huge push in creating most of those fics. Gambit always seemed like he had enough edge in him to relate to Logan, but he'd also like having somewhere to hang his hat and someone to come home to on a regular basis (whereas Logan would run off into the woods to be alone for weeks at a time).

**haruechan**- Hope you enjoy the torture to come. Rogue and Carol Danvers? Only time will tell. The future of Rogue and Gambit, heck only time will tell that too. There will definitely be some Romy, Kiotr, and quite a few unexpected couples in this story, so I hope you're ready.

**X-men fan**- I'm glad you liked both stories, and I'm glad you're looking forward to the next one because here it comes…


	2. Here Comes Tomorrow

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.

-------------------------------

Chapter 2- Here Comes Tomorrow

-------------------------------

A brand new day had dawned on the Xavier School for the Gifted in Salem Center, New York. This morning, a few of the residents of the school, who doubled as members of the school's defense force the X-Men, were up and preparing to attend a briefing that would better explain the latest threat that they faced.

Scott Summers had been up late the night before meticulously pouring through every note and every bit of data at his disposal, all in preparation for the assessment that he would deliver to his fellow X-Men today. After grabbing a few hours of sleep and a quick shower that made him feel like a new man, Scott was ready to discuss the information that he had gathered about the Sentinels. He threw on a fresh set of clothes, and then descended back down the large staircase inside of the mansion. Scott was heading for the elevator that would take him back to the War Room, the X-Men's meeting and planning room located in the lower levels of the school, once again. But, Scott paused when he heard the most peculiar thing.

It was the sound of someone playing music, and it was coming from somewhere within the mansion.

Scott could immediately tell that it wasn't coming from a radio belonging to one of the students, so he decided to investigate further. As he traced the musical emanations to its source, Scott found himself at the door of a rarely used small study in the mansion. He saw someone in there, who a few weeks before had dyed her short-length hair from its natural blonde to a deep crimson color, all in an attempt to make herself less recognizable to the public. Scott also noticed that she was wearing a medium blue, short sleeve blouse with matching capris. When he saw her face, he recognized that it was one of the school's newest residents, Alison Blaire, sitting at the piano within and playing a slow and slightly somber piece. With the morning sunlight peeking its way through curtains in the study, combining with the music, seemed to give the room a rather tranquil ambiance. Scott stood there listening for a few minutes, before Alison realized that she had found an audience of one.

"Oh, I didn't know anyone was there." Alison said, after sensing that someone else was in the room. She had turned around from the piano to see Scott, leaning against the wall just inside of the doorframe.

"I stopped in to see who was playing in here." Scott replied.

"I didn't think anyone would mind. I'm sorry if I was disturbing you." Alison said apologetically.

"No, not at all." Scott assured her, "It's just that curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted to see who was actually making use of the piano for a change."

"I love to play, whenever I get the chance. It's like an outlet for my emotions, and how I'm feeling at the moment." Alison explained.

"I'm nowhere near being a music expert, but that was a beautiful song." Scott complimented her, as he walked closer into the room, "Where did you learn it?"

"I was classically trained, and my parents had me taking lessons at an early age. After I won a few awards, they hoped I would become a world reknown concert pianist." Alison answered, as her blue eyes looked up at Scott from the piano bench. She had only seen him a few brief times before around the mansion, and Alison had been wondering how Scott could see anything through the red eyeglasses that he always wore.

"They must be very proud of you." Scott said to her.

"Think again. When I told them that I wanted to pursue a career in rock & roll, let's just say that 'disappointed' would be putting it mildly in describing how they reacted. But, I had to live the life that I wanted, and I had to follow my dream." Alison revealed, "Anyways back to your question, that song I was playing was something that I had been working on for my next album. But, I guess now I'm going to have all the time in the world to get it just right."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked her.

Alison then turned and looked towards the window, before she responded to Scott's question.

"It's kinda hard to put out an album, with no record company to release it. Now that the whole world knows I'm a mutant, no label in their right mind is going to come within a million miles of me. Same thing goes for my acting career, which was already struggling before all of this happened."

Scott could tell by her expression how hurt Alison was by what had happened to her, and to her career. Despite the fact that he didn't keep up with what was hot or current in the entertainment world, Scott had learned a little bit about Alison's life from an article that he had read, while trying to figure out why Frederick J. Dukes, aka the Blob, had showed up at her last concert in NYC, and started a riot inside of the arena.

But, Scott could also tell that Alison's pain went much deeper than just her losing a recording contract or a few minor movie roles. The way that she talked about writing and playing music for others made Alison seem to almost, literally, light up. Music and performing were an essential part of who she was, and now it appeared that part was suddenly gone.

In a way, it was something that Scott could definitely relate to in regards to his own life.

"Look, I was on my way downstairs for a team briefing. Why don't you come down there with the rest of us?" Scott offered, as he could tell that he had stirred some unpleasant feelings up in Alison.

"You guys have some pretty important work to do, and I'd just be in the way." Alison replied.

"Trust me, it'll be alright." Scott told her.

"Okay." Alison said, as she agreed.

While Alison and Scott left the study and continued their conversation, other residents at the school were already making their way down to its lower levels.

-----------------------

Rogue, Jubilee, Kitty, Bobby, Peter, and the newest arrival Remy Lebeau, were all on the elevator downstairs together. They were all casually dressed in various attire, some of them wearing assorted apparel with the school's insignia on it. The elevator taking them down to the briefing in the War Room was, however, unusually silent and it was most likely due to the tension that everyone felt between Rogue and Bobby. Remy knew that there was some kind of history between the two, but Rogue had yet to inform him of the specifics. Remy felt uncomfortable with the silence inside and decided to do something about it. So, he looked over to his right side, and spoke to the person standing next to him.

"You know, I met some pretty big fellas before, but ain't none of them got anything on you." Remy smiled, as he looked up at Peter right next to him, all the while with his arm still in a sling.

Peter then slowly looked down at Remy, with an expression that displayed little in the way of emotion.

"I suppose, 'little one'." Peter replied simply, as he turned his head back and looked forward again inside of the elevator, his expression unchanged.

With that, Jubilee, Kitty, and even Rogue & Bobby, all let out a brief laugh. While Remy didn't quite get the full meaning of Peter's reply, the others certainly did. Despite his usually stoic demeanor, Peter did have a wonderful sense of humor that he only displayed to those that he truly felt comfortable with. In regards to his comment, Peter never used the term 'little one' when speaking to grown men, but usually when talking to his younger sister Illyana Rasputin, or on occasion when speaking to one of the younger female students at the school.

The group then stepped off of the elevator, and into the corridor where the War Room stood at the end. With the ice broken by Remy and Peter's very brief conversation, the school's number one practitioner of sub-zero temperatures spoke to his classmate, who ironically had been giving him the cold-shoulder as of late.

"Rogue can we talk, just for a minute?" Bobby asked her.

Rogue stopped, while the rest of the group continued on down the hallway. But, Remy stopped as well and looked over at Rogue. Remy did proceed on into the War Room with Kitty, Peter, and Jubilee, after Rogue motioned for him to go on inside. Then, it was just Bobby and Rogue left outside in the corridor.

"Look Rogue, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for hurting you. That's the last thing I ever wanted--" Bobby started, before he was interrupted.

"It's alright." Rogue said, as she flashed her best fake smile, "Ah'm fine with things now, so there's no reason to worry about it."

"Um…okay, sure." Bobby replied, as he was caught a little off guard by Rogue's response.

Bobby had broken up with Rogue, hoping that it would give him a chance to better sort out his own personal issues. Bobby had been in a deep depression for the last few months. It was due to his family's apparent rejection of him following the revelation that he was mutant, and then the confrontation with the police that occurred outside of his home in Boston. But, he kept the inner-turmoil that he was going through secret from Rogue. Bobby thought that she had been through so much already, because of her own difficulties as a result of her mutant powers, and figured that the last thing she needed to hear was additional grief from him. It finally took Dr. McCoy recommending that Bobby go talk to a professional, for him to realize that he couldn't and didn't have to handle it all on his own.

After finally talking with his therapist about how he had been feeling, things in his life slowly started to make sense again. But, Bobby also quickly realized that it was Rogue that had made the most sense in his life, and that he had made a mistake by not confiding in her to begin with. By the time he had figured this out, Rogue was long gone on a trip to Japan with Logan. Bobby was hoping that he would at least get the chance to straighten things out with her, when she returned home. But, with the appearance of her mysterious new 'friend', and now Rogue's apparent eagerness to put their past behind them, Bobby wondered if the damage he had done to their relationship might very well be irreparable.

"We'd better get inside, the meeting'll be starting soon." Rogue said softly, as she walked past Bobby into the War Room.

As Bobby walked in behind Rogue, they both saw that the Professor, Ororo, and Logan were already inside.

"Well, it looks like all you kids are up bright 'n early this mornin'." Logan greeted them, as he sat with his legs propped up on another chair in the room.

"It is good to see you again, _Tovarisch_." Peter replied, as he took a seat by Logan. The two hadn't had a chance to see each other yet, since Logan had spent most of the previous evening informing the Professor, Ororo, Hank and Scott about what had happened in Japan, and telling them about their latest addition, Gambit.

"It's nice seein' you too, Pete." Logan responded.

"How about little ole me?" Kitty sarcastically asked Logan, as she stood next to Peter with her hands on her hips. One of the reasons that Kitty asked was because of the fact that she and Logan had not seen eye-to-eye on many issues, and there had been more than a fair share of long 'discussions' between them as a result.

"Even you, 'short-stuff'." Logan told her, with a small smirk on his face.

"Well, I don't even need to ask. You already know that I naturally brighten up yours, and everyone else's day." Jubilee boasted, as she sat down in another chair in the War Room with one leg crossing over the other. Jubilee was referring to the effect that both her lively personality, and her mutant power, had on others.

Just then, Kurt Wagner, Dr. Henry McCoy, Sean Cassidy (Siryn's father), and the mutant Machine-smith known as Forge, all entered the War Room. As they came in, Sean instantly took notice of Remy sitting in the room, and carefully studied the young man that hailed from New Orleans as they all went to find seats within.

There were a few more minutes of the now good-sized group greeting and talking with each other. Then, the last two arrivals made their way into the War Room, with the large steel doors closing behind them.

"Ah, _Fraulein_, a seat has been especially reserved here just for you." Kurt offered.

"Thanks for making a girl feel so welcome." Alison smiled, knowing that Kurt had no inkling beforehand that she would be attending their meeting. Alison then took her seat next to Kurt, who was more crouching in his chair than actually sitting.

"So, did you decide to go ahead and hookup with the super-hero set here?" Jubilee asked, from a few chairs over.

"I don't think I'm quite cut out for that. All I'm doing here is watching the pros while they work." Alison replied.

Meanwhile, Scott went over to the Professor and Ororo and said a few words to them, before continuing on to the front of the room. There, he stood with a huge digital screen behind him.

"Looks like we can finally get this show on the road." Logan remarked.

"Don't know why he's in such a hurry, he's still got plenty o' time before happy-hour starts." Remy commented, as he sat next to Rogue and whispered into her ear.

"**Shhhh**!" Rogue said as she smiled and whispered back, nudging Remy lightly in his side with her elbow for his comment, "Don't you want to make a good first impression?"

As the pair talked low enough so that no one else could hear them, they still managed to catch Bobby's attention, however.

"Well, let's begin." Scott said, as he cued up an image of a global map behind him, "I'm going to do a little threat analysis, as I give a brief run-down of recent events. Some of the things I intend to cover may seem repetitive to a few of you, but I'm sure it will be very informative and helpful to the majority in here. It may also be helpful to those that have had a habit of falling asleep during my previous lectures."

With those words, more than a few pairs of eyes in the room unintentionally looked over at one individual.

"Gawd, a girl falls asleep in class ONE time, and I have to wear it like some sorta Scarlet Letter." Jubilee replied, "Just the fact that I know what a friggin' Scarlet Letter is, should tell everybody that I go to class for more than just nap-time."

As a few of the junior X-Men continued to remember the day when Jubilee's snoring brought one of their classes to a halt, following her late-night movie marathon, Scott continued talking.

"Here's the situation. Over the last few weeks, quite a few of us have been involved in a number of confrontations around the world. In Japan, Wolverine, Rogue, and Gambit fought with an individual calling himself the Silver Samurai. After aiding authorities in dismantling a good portion of the Jigoku underworld, criminal activities around the Asian-Pacific rim, particularly in the Tokyo region of Japan, have been severely hampered and disrupted. As a result, we've learned from our own sources over here that members of the Japanese underworld, who aren't currently incarcerated, have vowed revenge. There's even a unconfirmed rumor that there may be a substantial bounty out on anyone who aided authorities in the capture and arrest of the Silver Samurai, the assassins of the Hand, and members of the Yakuza."

"Just let 'em try to come 'n collect." Logan said in response, as he popped out the claws on his right hand.

"Don't get uptight just yet, _Mon Ami_." Remy said to Logan, "Remember, they gonna have to deal wit' Sunfire first to collect on dat bounty, and I don't t'ink there's enough mobsters in all of Japan able t'take him down."

"Did you say, Sunfire?" Scott asked Remy, "As in Shiro Yoshida?"

"Yeah. You know him or something?" Rogue answered for him.

"We tried to recruit Shiro Yoshida to join my second class of students here, a number of years ago." Professor Xavier revealed, as he sat next to Ororo and Hank in the War Room, "But, he 'less' than politely declined."

"I definitely believe ya. That guy's disposition makes me look downright cuddly." Logan stated.

"Wonder why Mariko's cousin didn't say anything when we mentioned the Professor's name over there?" Rogue whispered to Remy, to which Remy had no idea either.

As Remy and Rogue spoke to each other, Scott moved on to the next topic.

"Back here at home, Jubilee and Miss Blaire ran into a wall of trouble calling himself the Blob, during her last concert at Madison Square Garden. Then they, plus Beast, Iceman, and Nightcrawler had an apparent run-in with a group of armed men, that might possibly have ties to the Brotherhood, or to some secret sect affiliated with an establishment called the Hellfire Club."

"Run-in is an understatement. They used an entire neighborhood for target practice with those machine-guns of theirs." Kurt said aloud.

"I agree. But, without a doubt the most alarming event is what occurred on Muir Island." Scott said, as he now brought up an image of a devastated Muir Island, "Along with the sudden, and unexpected, re-introduction of the Sentinel program."

Scott then brought up a detailed computer model that showed the entire room exactly what a Sentinel looked like. The display showed a giant humanoid robot with its head, arms, and legs colored in a dark purple tone, while the rest of its torso was painted in a lighter shade of purple.

"As you can see by these schematics, Sentinel robots are possessed of an advanced level of Artificial Intelligence. They are also heavily-armed, with energy pulsation blasts that fire from its hands as its main weapon. In addition, they are usually equipped with gas grenades, wire cables for detaining subjects, and concentrated laser beams that fire from their eye sensors. The booster rockets equipped in their legs manage to provide them with a long-range flight capability. "

Scott then brought up the next image, which wasn't of a Sentinel, but of an older man with slightly graying hair.

"This is a picture of the Sentinels original creator, the late Dr. Bolivar Trask. When we first encountered his Sentinels a number of years ago, it was at a time when most of the public still thought that mutants were merely a fantasy cooked up in the mind of some half-baked crackpot. But now, the public is more than well aware of our existence."

"Tell me about it." Alison commented, as she only spoke loud enough that Kurt was able to hear her.

"Trask, however, took the mutant phenomenon very seriously, and constructed his Sentinels as a response. His model's primary design function seemed to be for tracking and detaining mutants. The newer model that appeared on Muir Island is smaller, standing not quite twenty feet tall, and seems better equipped for strategic combat. From what Ororo and Sean have told me, they also seemed to be programmed more for eliminating their mutant subjects, than capturing them for examination. On top of that, these Sentinels have kidnapped Dr. Moira MacTaggert, for as yet unknown reasons."

"Have ye been able to get a better idea on who built these new and improved death machines, Scotty? It may provide a clue as to where they might be holdin' Moira." Sean asked him.

"I think I'll turn that question over to Forge." Scott answered, as all eyes turned to the middle-aged Native American gentleman, whose mutant power to invent and construct machines was limited only by his imagination.

"I took a look at the model that was brought back on the Blackbird, when I arrived last night." Forge said, in a moderately-low, but steady voice, "But, in the brief time that I've had to examine it, my evaluation of its internal circuitry has revealed little so far. If that unit had been left more intact, I could probably run a full diagnostic on it and obtain a more thorough understanding of it's A.I. thought analysis, and perhaps pick up a clue as to who the programmer may be."

Immediately, the most dangerous mouth in mansion felt that she had to say something.

"Sorry, next time one of those things decides to jump us from out of nowhere, I'll just ask him; 'Please Mr. Killer-Robot-Sir', can you take a seat on the table over here so I can take your temperature, and see what really goes on in that big, gigantic metal brain of yours." Kitty said aloud, as she sat in her chair with arms folded over in front of her.

While it might have sounded like Kitty was upset with Forge, in truth, she was upset that someone would actually build these things in the first place to hurt and kill other people, even if they were mutants.

"**Kitty**!" Professor Xavier scolded her, showing his disapproval of the tone that she had taken with Forge.

"It's alright Charles. I imagine that my last statement did sound rather insensitive, considering what many of you have been through, and that's not what I had intended." Forge responded, "It's just that I had wanted to provide you with as much information as I possibly could this morning."

"If anyone can unlock whatever secrets it may possess, it would be you." Professor Xavier said to him.

"I imagine so, it may just take me a little more time than I had anticipated, while I finish reconstructing its damaged circuitry." Forge replied, before continuing his assessment, "What I have been able to gather so far is that these Sentinel units are of a fairly advanced cybernetic design. It seems to be on par with those being produced by S.H.I.E.L.D., A.I.M., and Stark Enterprises, while remaining uniquely original in its own right."

Forge then took a chunk of purple metal out a bag that he was carrying, and placed it on the large table within the War Room.

"On the subject of original, the material used in their outer exo-structure is composed of very little iron, but manages to remain remarkably lightweight and durable." Forge continued, "I imagine that they had our old friend Magneto in mind when they came up with that."

"What, precisely, does this material consist of?" Hank inquired.

"It's made from a new and experimental alloy that combines super-strong plastic, with an extremely rare form of high-grade aluminum." Forge answered.

"How rare?" Scott asked.

"I did some digging before I came in here this morning, and there's only one company that produces it, Dynatech Industries." Forge replied.

"Well, who owns Dynatech Industries?" Bobby wanted to know.

Forge paused for a moment, before bringing himself to answer the query.

"It's a subsidiary of Worthington Enterprises."

"You mean Warren Worthington?" Ororo asked.

"The very same." Forge confirmed.

With that answer, Scott, Hank, and even Professor Xavier seemed to be bothered the most by that revelation. But, it was Ororo that was hit the hardest. Warren Worthington had been one of Professor Xavier's original students, donning the code-name that made the most sense in regards to his mutant ability, Angel. He had been Scott, Hank, Jean, and Ororo's classmate, but more importantly, he had been their teammate and their friend. Beyond that, Warren and Ororo had, at one time, been much, much more than just friends or teammates. Now, the remaining original X-Men were left to ponder why on Earth he would be involved in something like this.

"I say we go to this Worthington Enterprises, and see if we can get some answers." Logan remarked, to the currently silent room.

"I will handle that. I intend to find out for myself what this connection with Worthington Enterprises is." Ororo pledged, as she sat in her chair with her face resting against her hand, displaying a very serious look on her face.

----------------

Scott continued talking for a while longer, revealing in the process that he would be leading a small expedition to the former base of Bolivar Trask, which was located in the Adirondack Mountains in upper New York state.

When the meeting finally did adjourn, the individuals in the room prepared to go off to various destinations in and around the mansion. Scott immediately came over to where Remy and Rogue were sitting in the room.

"Remy, take the elevator upstairs. The large door at the end of the hallway is the Professor's study, and I'll meet you there in about fifteen minutes. I want to complete your team orientation all at one time." Scott said, as everyone continued to file out of the War Room.

"Alright." Remy replied, as he turned back towards Rogue.

"Ah'll show him where it is." Rogue promised.

As almost everyone in the room walked out into the hallway, Scott and Ororo stood and talked for a moment.

"I haven't had a chance to ask you about your trip to Egypt with Alex and Lorna. How was it?" Ororo asked him, as Scott now came over to her.

"It was a nice experience. It helped me keep my mind off of everything else in my life for a while." Scott answered, "The excavation team spent most of its time there digging around a town near the temple of En Sabah Nur. Alex and Lorna's university is planning on going back next year. They want to go inside of the temple and catalog its interior, once they get the approval of the Egyptian government."

"They must be very excited." Ororo assumed.

"When Alex called the other day, after they both saw the news report about Muir Island, it seemed like he and Lorna are thinking more about mid-terms now than anything else at the moment." Scott replied.

Ororo then glanced down at her watch, before she spoke again.

"I had better get going, I have a class that will be starting soon." Ororo said to Scott, as she turned and headed towards the door of the War Room.

"Ororo…" Scott called out to her, causing the one person who's leadership and tactical abilities rivaled his own, to stop and turn around.

"You know, this thing with Warren, you don't have to do this. I know how strained things have been between you two, I can go find out what's going on with him." Scott offered, as he walked over and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I appreciate your offer. But I saw first-hand the devastation that the Sentinels inflicted on Muir Island, and I want to hear in person what possible rationale he could find for being involved in their creation." Ororo replied, as she put her hand over his for a moment, and then left for the classroom that beckoned her to it.

Meanwhile, as Ororo and Scott passed everyone out in the hallway and headed upstairs with Kurt and Alison…

"I shouldn't be in dis meetin' for too long, _Chere_." Remy said to Rogue, as they stood in the hallway, away from the rest of the group.

"You don't have to be in a hurry, we're probably going to spend most of the day studyin' for a big test that's coming up." Rogue replied, "Then, Ah still have to finish the paper that I was supposed to turn in when we got home. At least the Professor gave me an extension on it."

As they were talking, Logan came walking by.

"Where're you off to in such a hurry?" Rogue asked him, as she and Remy started walking with Logan, heading towards the elevator.

"I've been cooped up in here long enough, I just need to get out for a little while." Logan answered, as the three of them now stepped onto the elevator, "I'll be back before dinner."

"Goin' anywhere special?" Remy asked.

"To me it is, Cajun." Logan replied simply, as the elevator door closed and took them upstairs.

Just then Peter, who was standing with Bobby and Jubilee and also discussing going to study, noticed that Kitty wasn't with them. He looked over and saw her by Forge and Hank.

"Katya, are you going to join us?" Peter asked, as the group stood outside in the corridor.

"I'll catch up later. First, I wanna see this 'old' Blackbird that Dr. McCoy is talking about." Kitty replied.

"What old Blackbird?" Bobby inquired.

"It was the predecessor to the model that the team is currently using." Hank informed him, as he stood next to Forge.

"I don't remember seeing another 10-ton plane just lying around." Jubilee commented.

"It's been in storage for a few years now." Forge explained, "Professor Xavier didn't think it was necessary to have two jets before, with only three X-Men at that time on the active roster. But now, he believes that there may finally be a need for it. Since I've finished making the final repairs to Cerebro, he's offered a contract for me to completely overhaul the first Blackbird to bring it up to current specifications, and then make some new modifications to both jets. So, I'm heading out to Hangar #2 to take a look at it."

"I remember Mr. Summers mentioning Hangar #2 once, saying that it runs underground from the mansion past the lake, and then to an opening on a nearby cliff-side." Peter recalled, as Kitty walked over to him, Jubilee, and Bobby.

"When I get through looking at it, I'm going to go check on Rahne again." Kitty told them.

"Who's Rahne?" Jubilee asked.

"You remember the girl I was telling you about, the one we brought back from Muir Island." Kitty reminded her.

"Oh yeah, the one who can turn herself into a wolf." Bobby recalled, as Peter had mentioned it to him.

"Uh-huh, but the problem now is that she refuses to change back." Kitty responded.

"There has still been no change?" Peter asked.

"I ran into Rogue last night after I left her's and Jubilee's room. The two of us spent almost an hour last night talking to Rahne, trying to get through to her. But, all Rahne did was go over to the far corner of her cell that we have to keep her in just so she won't hurt anyone, and lied down facing away from us. It's like she's just shutting herself off from the rest of the world." Kitty told them, "And with the Professor's telepathy gone, we don't really have any other way of communicating with her."

"I'm sure Professor Xavier will figure out something." Bobby told her.

"I hope so. But, I think the only thing that's going to help is when we find Dr. MacTaggert and bring her home." Kitty said, as she saw Hank and Forge heading down the corridor, "Anyways, I'll see you guys in a little bit."

Kitty then headed to the long entrance shaft that led to Hangar #2, leaving only Peter, Bobby, and Jubilee in the hallway.

"I guess we can go as well." Peter said to the group.

"All right." Bobby agreed, as they started to walk to the elevator, when something suddenly occurred to him.

"What's the matter?" Jubilee asked Bobby, seeing that something was wrong.

"My communicator, I think I left it in the War Room." Bobby told her.

"We can wait for you to go get it." Peter told him.

"No, you guys go ahead and get everything set up." Bobby told them, "Peter, would you grab my stuff from my room, and I'll meet you two in the library."

While Bobby headed back down the hallway to the War Room, Jubilee and Peter boarded the elevator.

"Man, spending most of the day with my head buried in a book is SO not my idea of a good time." Jubilee said to Peter.

"I imagine that you could always use your book as a pillow or a headrest." Peter said with a straight face.

"Oh give it a rest already, will ya." Jubilee replied as she shook her head, wishing that everyone would forget her less-than-stellar moment in class.

As the elevator took Jubilee and Peter up to the ground level of the school, Bobby opened the door to the War Room to retrieve his communication device. Once inside, he saw that the Professor and Theresa's father were having a conversation. Since they were facing away from him, Bobby decided to just get his communicator, and leave without disturbing them. But, he unintentionally ended up hearing an interesting bit of information.

"Charles, I think I'm going to track down some of me old contacts here in the States, from my days spent working for Inter-pol, and see what I can dig up on the whereabouts of Moira." Sean said to Professor Xavier.

"At this point, it certainly couldn't hurt." The Professor replied, as he sat in his wheelchair while the two men watched news feeds from around the world on the large monitor in the War Room.

"Speaking of days spent with Inter-pol, that's a fairly interesting individual ye've brought here. You do know that Remy Lebeau is a very sought after individual, for his string of heists 'round the world." Sean stated.

"I am aware of that. It seems though, that Inter-pol has apparently dropped those charges, after some persuasion by Logan and his female acquaintance in Japan." Professor Xavier revealed.

"But do ye think it's a good idea to have a career-criminal livin' here, with all of these impressionable young children?" Sean asked.

"From my brief conversation with him yesterday, Mr. Lebeau seems to genuinely want to leave his former life of crime. If anything, this institution is as much about second chances, as it is about educating the next generation of mutants. The idea of redemption is something that I want these children take with them, once they leave the confines of this school." The Professor answered.

"I suppose ye're right." Sean said, as he thought he heard someone behind him and suddenly turned around, but saw no one there.

Outside of the War Room, Bobby thought about what he had heard, and wondered to himself if people can truly change who they are deep inside. It was a question that he wanted find an answer to first hand, as he intended to keep a much closer eye on one Remy Lebeau…

----------------------------

Next Chapter: **The Massachusetts Academy**! What have the kids at 'Mutant Prep' been up to…

----------------------------

A/N: Special thanks to everyone for your reviews of the last chapter.

**TheDreamerLady**- Glad you liked the first chapter! As far as your question regarding the romantic life of our favorite gum-chewing firecracker, his name is Doug Ramsey.

**sugah-crystal-101**- Thanks for the review, and the next chapter is here!

**plutospawn**- Yeah, I know it is quite a bit. I've actually trimmed these first few chapters down as much as possible, but I realize that they're still pretty long. I'm glad you like the inclusion of all of the various characters, and I hope you like what's coming up next.

**Jean1**- Yeah, I tried to touch on the essential things from the other two stories, without over-doing it. I'm glad you liked the Kiotr love-fest and Scott's memories. The Kurt/Logan scene was one that I had been really looking forward to including in this, since not that many writers display that aspect of their relationship. As far as Bobby, that might end up being the most interesting subject of all.

**Episodic**- Glad you loved the 'fluffiness'! As far as Rogue, all I can say is wait and see.

**Independent Fire**- Thank you for reading both stories. I thought the Kitty/Peter/Scott scene was pretty good too. As far as Rahne, it's funny that you brought her up. Read on to find out more…

**Freelancer**- Glad you like everything that's going on, and that you are looking forward to the Forge appearance.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you love it. While Remy is one in a million, Bobby does have his good points too. Which doesn't mean, however, that those two personalities will mix well together. The X-Men are definitely still searching for Dr. MacTaggert, and I think Scott is doing fairly well, given the circumstances of what he's been dealing with. Also, thank you for the compliment, and I love that I've got you hooked…

**haruechan**- Glad you liked the chapter, big as it was. And don't worry about Storm, she's going to have a **very** big part soon.

**MoonlightPhoenix3**- Yep, sneaky me. I'm glad you like the inclusion of Gambit, and it's never too late to go back and read Land of the Silver Sun. Glad you liked the heavy Kiotr action, and thank you for the double points on word selection. I also hope that you and those around you make it through everything down there safe and sound.


	3. Alternative School pt 2, Up the Academy

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.

-----------------------------------

Chapter 3- Alternative School Part 2, Up the Academy

-----------------------------------

A/N: This chapter contains some mild language.

Nestled in the shadows of the Berkshire Mountains, and just outside of the small township of Snow Valley, Massachusetts stands the Massachusetts Preparatory Academy. It is a sprawling and spacious institution that serves as a school for the gifted. The gifts that these students possess give them fantastic and unique abilities, mutant powers that separate them from the rest of mankind, and powers that they are taught to control and to make better use of here. But, not to be confused with another School for the Gifted located a few hundred miles due north in New York's Westchester County; the Massachusetts Academy has a decidedly 'different' philosophy on how mutants should use those powers.

Despite the more than intentionally similar designs, right down to the series of secret corridors below the school that includes a state of the art training complex, the difference between the two schools can be seen when comparing the Headmaster and Headmistress of each fine institution. While Charles Xavier aspires to help his students learn how to control their powers for the benefit of all humanity, Emma Frost on the other hand, wants more from her students than just mere control of their powers. She is teaching them to become thoroughly proficient in the use of their abilities, preparing them to one day take their place in the world as part of a new, elite power structure. And, she expects that they shouldn't be satisfied with anything less.

It is a point that Miss Frost is making quite clear at the moment in the school's Combat Simulation Room, located in the lower levels beneath the Massachusetts Academy.

"**Everybody just stop**! End training sequence now…" Emma Frost shouted to her students from the control booth high above within the Combat Room, as she removed the eyeglasses that she was wearing and closed her eyes in frustration.

At first glance, one couldn't help but notice the platinum blonde hair, ice-blue eyes, and strikingly classic features of one Emma Grace Frost. The expensive white pantsuit that she was currently wearing helped in finalizing the realization that she could have most likely had a successful career as a fashion model, if she had so desired one.

"What's the matter?" Joanna Cargill, the muscular and super-strong, 6'11" African-American teenager codenamed Frenzy asked, as she looked up from inside of the Combat Room.

Frenzy stood there dressed in her dark purple leather uniform trimmed in fuchsia, one just like all of the other students at the Massachusetts Academy wore during their training sessions, and waited for a response. Despite the color and different insignias on the collars and belts, the leather uniforms were similar in design to those worn by students at another school, while training in their Danger Room or on missions away from the school.

"What is the matter, Frenzy, is that I'm stopping this training session before one of your teammates manages to get themselves killed!" A somewhat, flustered Emma Frost replied.

"Idiots." Joanna angrily mumbled to herself, referring to her junior-squad teammates. Her remark also showed her impatience at still being on the school's junior squad, when she believed that she had more than proven that she was ready to be promoted to the school's senior-team.

"Jetstream, your primary responsibility is to help Firestar in providing aerial cover for your teammates on the ground, while they disable the target drones." Miss Frost continued, as she spoke to Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rahman, the young man that she had recruited to join the Massachusetts Academy from his home country in the Middle East, "It-is-not to fly around the Combat Room, as though you were performing in some air show. And, the rest of you aren't performing much more effectively than him."

"I'm sure we can do a lot better if we try it again, Miss Frost." Firestar, the red-haired girl whose real name was Angelica Jones, assured her.

"I appreciate the gesture Firestar, but I think that it might be more beneficial if all of you observed one of the older students run the simulation in there." Miss Frost replied, as she turned around behind her and looked at the five senior-most students at the Academy. There stood the teenagers that had been code-named Pyro, Avalanche, Empath, Boomer, and the most recently promoted to senior-status, Roulette.

"Do I have any volunteers?" The Headmistress asked them.

"Hell, I'll go." John Allerdyce, the confident flame-controlling mutant known as Pyro quickly answered, as he then turned and walked out of the control booth.

While Pyro made his way down to the Combat Room, Miss Frost once again spoke to the junior students still inside.

"Jetstream, Frenzy, Bevatron, Catseye, all of you join me in the control booth." She angrily instructed them.

"What about me, Miss Frost?" Angelica asked.

"I want you to remain, Angelica. I will tell you more in a moment." She replied, now in a calmer tone.

After a few minutes had passed, John was down in the Combat Room and the junior students were now up in the control booth above.

"I'm ready whenever you are." John said, as he took out the lighter with the shark-toothed design on it from a small pocket on his purple and fuchsia leather uniform. He then flipped the lid up, and flicked up a small flame on it.

"Pyro, close your lighter and lay it down on the floor." Miss Frost instructed him.

"Okay…This gonna be hand-to-hand, or something?" John asked, as he knelt and put the lighter down in front of him.

"No, as an extra challenge, you'll be working with an alternate source of power for this session." Miss Frost informed him. Then, she spoke to Angelica.

"Firestar, I want you to focus your microwave energy around you. Heat the air particles around your body until they achieve combustion, just like in your individual session with me the other day." Emma told her.

"But, Pyro's in here too. When I do that, it makes the room really, really hot." Angelica replied.

"As long as you focus your energy and keep it in a closely confined area around you, you won't harm anyone else. Besides, I believe that Pyro is more than apt to handle any additional heat that may come his way." Miss Frost said, as a small smile came to Pyro's face.

Firestar closed her eyes, held her arms out to her side, and activated her mutant power with a mental command. It caused her body to begin emitting microwave radiation that started to heat the air around her. Then, she did as she had been instructed by her teacher and focused that energy into a tightly defined field around her body. She increased its intensity until the very air around her started crackling loudly, and then violently exploded into white-hot flames.

"I am beginning the exercise." Emma informed Pyro, as she activated the training sequence from the control booth.

"Just stand still, and don't move." Pyro instructed Firestar, as the first wave of flying target drones came towards him.

The drones were round and metallic, roughly about the same size as a volleyball. They had targeting sensors that locked onto their subject and fired small energy blasts at them. Since Pyro was more experienced than the younger students that had been running the simulation previously, the drones were moving much faster and the blasts that they were firing were set on a higher damage level. Frost had programmed the drones to only target Pyro, meaning that Firestar was in no danger of being hit as she stood in the center of the Combat Room. Pyro remained close to Firestar, and used the tremendous flames that she was currently generating to fuel his pyro-kinetic ability. He took out the numerous drones one at a time, all the while jumping, ducking, and rolling to avoid being hit as they targeted him.

Within a matter of a few minutes, the bright red siren lights inside of the Combat Room flashed on, signaling that the training objective had been achieved.

"**Allriight John**! Way to show the life-sized video game who's boss!" An excited young lady named Tabitha Smith, who also went by the code-name Boomer, shouted from the control booth.

"Looks like teacher's pet just scored some more brownie points he doesn't need." Lance Alvers, the appropriately code-named Avalanche remarked, which quickly drew the ire of one Tabitha Smith.

"Why don't cha do us all a favor and shut-up already?" Tabitha said, as she pushed blonde hair that had a few brightly-colored red highlights in it from in front of her face, further revealing eyes that were deep blue and also her small diamond stud nose-piercing.

"What, you think you can shut me up, Boom-Boom?" Lance challenged her, cocking his head to the side and causing his semi-long, dark brown hair to sway to the side as he folded his fairly muscular arms in front of him. "'Cause I'm sure as hell not scared of you, or your hot-shot, matchstick boyfriend."

With that, a small tremor could be felt within the control booth, making it seem as though there was a localized aftershock affecting just that one room. But, since the Combat Room didn't sit directly on a fault-line, the students knew that there could only be one cause of the rumbling sensation, or rather only one person causing it.

"In case you forgot, my code-name is Boomer. I don't go by Boom-Boom anymore." Tabitha quickly responded, with her temper now starting to flare.

"Like it matters. Both of them sound pretty damn stupid, if you ask me." Lance said, as he started to laugh. To which, Tabitha could only think of one response.

"I'll show you stupid, Alvers! You're the one who's gonna 3…be lookin' stupid, when they're spending the next month, 2…scrapin' you offa the walls in here, 1…" Boomer replied, as the teen used all of the might in her curvy, yet athletically-built physique, to hurl a bright, round baseball-sized object at Avalanche from the opposite side of the control booth.

"Oh shit, she's gonna blow us all up with one of those home-made grenades!" Lance yelled, as one of Boomer's plasma-energy, time-controlled bombs bounced on the ground towards him in the control booth. While Lance jumped to take cover, most of the other students in the control booth also did the same, or at the very least covered their ears to protect their hearing from the impending blast.

Sharon Smith, the ani-morphing mutant known as Catseye who had been born with the ability to change into a variety of different feline forms, converted herself into small housecat and sought safety in a small space between two of the large computers in the control booth.

But, instead of responding like most of her young charges, the Headmistress of the school walked over from the instrument panel that controlled the Combat Room, and knelt down to pick the time bomb up. As Emma Frost gazed down at the small energy ball in her hand, the other students that had scurried for cover watched in amazement at Miss Frost's bravery. After waiting for a few moments, they saw that the time bomb didn't explode violently, but rather fizzled out and dissipated into thin air.

"What'd you do to it?" Jennifer Stavros, the blonde Atlantic City native who was ironically enough codenamed Roulette, asked her teacher.

"Nothing." Miss Frost replied, "I sensed no danger telepathically from Tabitha, and reacted accordingly."

"As did I, Mistress Frost." Manuel Alfonso de la Rocha, the emotion-sensitive mutant that hailed from the nation of Spain and who had given himself the name Empath also revealed, as he had not moved from where he had been standing either.

"But, I totally faked out 'Earthquake-boy' over there with that dud. I actually had him shakin' in his boots, for a change." Tabitha commented with a smile of self-satisfaction, as Lance stood back up.

"It's about time someone taught 'too-much-testosterone' a lesson." Jennifer said approvingly, while the door to the control booth opened.

"What'd I miss?" John asked, as he had re-entered the control booth, to hear a couple of the students laughing within. John had left Firestar behind in the Combat Room, so that she could finish powering herself down.

"Your girlfriend actin' like a complete psycho, man." Lance answered.

"You missed witnessing your teammates waste valuable energy, energy which they should be conserving for their own training session today." Miss Frost told him.

"Shall I restart the program that Pyro was just using?" Manuel asked Miss Frost.

"Leave it off for the time being, Empath, classes will be starting within the hour. You and your fellow senior squad-mates will get the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the Combat Room, this time with a much more difficult training program. All, except for you John." Miss Frost told them, as she turned towards John, "Since you've more than demonstrated your proficiency in there this morning, you may excuse yourself from this afternoon's session."

"It's alright, I can run another one with everyone else." John told her.

As soon as John said that, Lance started to make kissing sounds, an implication that the senior-squad leader was volunteering to participate in the afternoon session just to kiss up. But, he quickly stopped when Tabitha gave him a look that seemed to ask, 'Do you want seconds?'

"As you wish. I expect the five of you to be in here promptly this afternoon at 3 o'clock. The junior students will be here to observe you this time." Miss Frost said, as she turned and headed for the control booth exit.

After hearing her talk to the students before departing, it might seem like Emma Frost was upset with their displays of power this morning. But, she couldn't have been more satisfied at their desire to use them, and particularly Tabitha's willingness to stand up to Lance's bullying attitude.

"Girl power indeed…" Emma thought to herself, as she continued on to her office with a small smile on her face.

---------------------

The students soon began to file out of the control booth above the Combat Room, heading for the locker room area. Last out were Tabitha and John, as they walked a good distance behind everyone else.

"You kicked some major ass in there." Tabitha said, as they walked together down the corridor.

"What else would you expect? Ass-kickin' is my middle name." John replied.

"I thought 'St. Reginald' was your middle name?" Tabitha smirked.

"Hey, I didn't tell you that so you could go broadcastin' it to the whole world." John quickly said to her, "The last thing I need is for Lance to find out, and give him an excuse to be an even bigger asshole than usual."

"After this morning, I don't think you'll have to worry about Lance razzin' you for awhile." Tabitha said, as a huge smile returned to her face when she thought about what had happened that morning between her and Lance, "But, sometimes I think that deep down Lance doesn't really mean to be that way."

"I don't believe it, you're actually coming to his defense?" John said in a surprised tone, as he had always gotten the impression that his girlfriend really didn't like Lance.

"I don't know. I'm just pointing out that his life has been pretty rough, and maybe that's the only way he knows how to be to other people." Tabitha replied.

"Well, most of us here haven't had things that easy, either." John told her, as they both stopped to talk in the now empty corridor.

"Yeah, but talkin' from personal experience, some of us have still had it **a lot** harder than others." Tabitha said, as she now looked down to the ground.

"Yeah, I know. You told me about how bad things were with you and your Dad." John remembered.

"Yeah." Tabitha quietly sighed.

Tabitha usually didn't like to think about the abusive home that she grew up in, one which she and her mother eventually had to leave. They left not too long before Emma Frost found them, and extended an invitation for Tabitha to attend the Massachusetts Academy. John could see how much the memories of that part of her life bothered her, and responded by putting his arms around her. After a few moments in their comforting embrace, Tabitha looked up at John and spoke again.

"So, did you enjoy your little bonding moment with Angelica this morning?" Tabitha smiled once again, as she asked the loaded question and tried to lighten the currently heavy mood between them.

"Who, her?" John answered, "C'mon Tab, you know you're the only one I wanna bond with. Speaking of which, we haven't bonded for awhile now."

"Actually, I think you need to cool down from your workout first." Tabitha responded.

"But, I thought you liked your guys hot?" John said, in a flirtatious tone.

"With you, that can be a safety hazard." Tabitha said, as she put her arms around John's neck and stepped up on her toes to kiss him.

Tabitha then remembered that classes were about to start, and then she spoke again, "We'd better hurry up, so we can get out of these uniforms."

"Now that's what I'm talking about." John said suggestively.

"Guys, you're always thinking with your head. Too bad it's always the wrong one." Tabitha shook her head, as she took John by his gloved hand and they continued on to the men and women's locker rooms.

-------------------------

After a full day of classes that were meant to help shape the students' minds, and then after another grueling session inside of the Combat Room meant to push their genetic gifts to a new plateau, the students at the Massachusetts Academy were then allowed to spend the rest of the afternoon unwinding in various parts of the school.

As Jennifer Stavros walked out to the huge balcony patio behind the school, she could see that her classmate Manuel de la Rocha was already standing out there in, what appeared to be, a form of silent meditation.

"What 'cha doing out here, Manny?" Jennifer asked, as she stepped out onto the balcony as well.

"Thinking." Manuel replied with a single word, as he continued looking ahead to the open commons area in front of him.

"About what?" Jennifer continued to inquire, as she took a seat on a bench that was perfectly positioned for viewing the nearby mountain landscape.

"About the sheer madness that seems to surround me on a daily basis." Manuel answered.

"What's got your boxers in a bind now?" Jennifer remarked.

"It's not enough that I have to suffer John Allerdyce as our squad leader, but it is insane that I am forced to put up with the antics of that punk-party princess Tabitha Smith, and especially with that complete neanderthal Alvers. A _De la Rocha_ should not have to remain in the company of such…commoners." Manuel remarked, as he finally turned around towards Jennifer to reveal his unmistakably European features, displayed by his golden brown hair and light brown eyes.

"Really? And how do you manage to remain in the company of this 'commoner'?" Jennifer asked with one eyebrow raised over her light-green eyes, as she reached into her pocket and took out a clip to pull her long blonde hair into a single ponytail.

"Because, your emotional state remains fairly stable, and you are one of the few individuals at this school that surprisingly does not wreak havoc on my empathic senses. With everyone else, it's like they are all jamming their emotional prattling into my skull every waking moment of the day." Manuel revealed, "If it is not Pyro constantly brooding about something, or Lance's anger at the rest of the world, then it's Angelica's painfully shy feelings of inadequacy, Mistress Frost's, as expected, cold demeanor, or Tabitha's wild personality. Much of my concentration throughout the day is spent simply trying to shut them all out."

"Poor Manny." Jennifer replied sarcastically, "Maybe one of my good luck discs'll help you out."

With that, Roulette activated her mutant power and created one of her small probability-altering discs in her hand. The discs that she was able to create could cause a person to receive good luck from her red-colored discs, or be hexed with bad luck from a black-colored disc. At that moment, she created a small, red psionically-charged disc in her hand and got up from the bench to hand it to Empath.

"Thank you, but no." Manuel said, as he refused her gesture, "Standing out here has cleared my thoughts for the time-being."

"Hmmph, I guess it's your loss then." Jennifer said in an indifferent tone, as she took the disc and simply tossed it out into the grassy field that they were both overlooking.

-------------------------

Meanwhile at the Headmistress's private residence on campus, Emma Frost was sitting at her desk in the study. She was pouring through important information that she had been gathering over recent months on potential new recruits, which she had filed into dossier folders that now lay in front of her. As she carefully looked at the name on each folder and then read what was known about them, she made notations of her own within the file, and debated on what her next course of action would be in regards to each individual--

-_Aaronson(2)-Christopher, Jesse_

-_Blevins, Sally_

-_Callasantos(2), Maria, Lucia_

-_Kleinstock(3)-Sven, Harlan, Eric_

Emma looked up, however, when she heard a knock at her study door.

"Come in." Emma said, as she closed the folder that she was currently holding marked, _Colbert, Marie-Ange_.

The door then opened and in walked Raven Darkholme, the school's assistant Headmistress.

"Is everything alright Raven?" Emma asked her, as Miss Darkholme took notice of the less than conservative attire that the Headmistress was now wearing in the privacy of her own home. Emma had on a tight and revealing white corset, long white satin gloves and leather boots, and an exquisite fur-trimmed shawl to complete the outfit.

But before she bothered to respond, Raven Darkholme first made sure to close the office door and then underwent a physical transformation of her own. She shape-shifted her fair-hued skin to a very dark blue tint, and her jet-black hair to a now fiery red color. Gone were the average looking white eyes with dark-colored pupils, now replaced by eyes that glowed an eerie yellow color.

"Your housekeeper let me in. I came to inform you that my presence has been requested in Washington D.C.--" Mystique replied, before she then changed her appearance yet again. This time her voice became deeper, as she now took the form of a man that had died more than a year and a half ago.

"--Or rather, the presence of Senator Robert Kelly, for a Senate hearing on national security." Mystique replied in the guise of Senator Kelly, before reverting back to her own blue-skinned form.

"By all means, don't delay any further. I can handle things here at the school." Emma told her, "I've taken care of most of my important duties at Frost International for the upcoming quarter, and I had already considered spending the rest of the current semester here."

"If you hear from Erik, inform him of where I have gone." Mystique requested.

"Certainly." Emma responded, as Mystique turned away from her and headed towards the door.

Mystique proceeded to revert back into her Raven Darkholme identity, and then left the study to make preparations for Senator Kelly's flight back to the nation's capitol. Meanwhile, Emma sat back in her chair at the desk in her study and thought about how she even came to be in association with individuals like Mystique, or the Brotherhood for that matter. She still recalled vividly the night when Erik Magnus Lensherr made his first, and unexpected, late hour visit to the Massachusetts Academy.

Despite the school's advanced security system that had been developed by her very own Frost Technotics, and the well-trained security detachment that had been specially-assigned to the Massachusetts Academy from the Hellfire Club, all at the urging of her fellow member Sebastian Shaw who held the title of Black King of their Inner Circle within the Hellfire Club, Magneto proved that none of those precautions could impede the Master of Magnetism. Emma was astounded even more by the fact that Magneto could walk right into her spacious, private residence on the campus and right up to her bedroom, without her mutant telepathy even alerting her to his presence…

----------------------

_(Flashback to nearly a year beforehand, a few weeks following the incident at Alkali Lake…)_

"This is a rather fine institution that you have established here."

Emma groggily opened her eyes at the sound of hearing the voice within her room, and instantly sat straight up on expensive silk sheets in a bed that was more than large enough to accommodate her and a handful of others. She could see a figure standing at the window in her room, and from what she could tell, he seemed to be dressed in a rather unusual outfit.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Emma asked, as she nervously stood up and grabbed a robe to cover the negligee that she was wearing.

She wasn't as unnerved at being awakened at such an ungodly hour of the morning in her state of undress, as she was by the fact that her telepathic probes weren't picking up any thought patterns in the room, despite the fact that she was obviously talking to somebody there. Emma had never considered herself to be the most powerful mind on the planet, that title had already been taken by another man, but she believed that she was still powerful enough to be counted among the first order psi's in the world.

"There is no need for alarm, I come here bearing no ill-will." The figure said, as he turned from the window and faced her.

Then with a wave of his hand, the lamp next to Emma's bed suddenly turned itself on without the switch being flipped. With the room now illuminated, Emma recognized instantly the man before her. His face had been paraded across every newspaper and news broadcast around the world after his capture on Liberty Island, and now again, since his recent escape from the federal prison where he had been incarcerated.

"I now recognize the who, but what do I owe to your presence, Magneto?" Emma inquired, as she continued her psi-probe that was still netting zilch.

"You can stop with your mental probing, you won't find the answers that you are requesting that way." Erik replied, as he stepped closer to Emma and lightly tapped on the helmet that he was currently wearing.

"How do you know…" Emma said, surprised that he knew about her mutant ability.

"Child, I am not a novice at this game that we play. And I can see neither are you, as the equipment underneath your residence can attest to." Erik responded, "The mutant detection device that you built below us is similar to the Cerebro machine that I helped to create many years ago. Where did you happen to come across the designs for it?"

"I have my sources." Emma shortly replied.

"As do I, which is how I learned about this school and about your unique abilities." Erik told her.

"Are you here to blackmail me then?" Emma asked him.

"On the contrary, I've come seeking your aid. I have a proposition that I believe would be beneficial to the both of us." Erik revealed.

"A proposition, at this time of night. I'm curious as to what that could be?" Emma smiled, as she now sat back down on her bed with both legs tucked underneath her.

"The war that will determine who will gain final dominance on this planet has begun, with the first shot being fired in the form of a worldwide phenomenon that occurred a few weeks ago." Erik said, as walked back to the window and looked carefully outside.

"You don't have to worry, I haven't alerted the security at this school to your presence." Emma assured him.

"I am pleased to see that you possess wisdom of a woman far beyond your years." Erik said, as he now took a seat in the room near the window.

"I haven't alerted them, yet. I'm just extending you the courtesy to finish telling me why I've been awakened to find an uninvited guest in my bedroom." Emma clarified, "This phenomenon that you referred to, you're talking about the attack that happened against every sentient mind on the planet?"

"Indeed, a man named William Stryker attempted to wipe every living mutant off of the face of the planet. Although he was unsuccessful, it is only a matter of time before the 'next' Stryker comes along to try and kill us all in our sleep." Erik believed.

"And what would this have to do with me and my school exactly?" Emma wanted to know.

"It has been brought to my attention that perhaps the methods that I have employed in the past, in my fight to ensure the survival of our people, needs a fresh approach. Instead of relying mainly on hired mercenaries to fight alongside me as I have done in the past, an old friend has shown me time and time again that having a group completely dedicated to his dream will ensure complete and unwavering loyalty from them. I think it is time that I helped to do my part in shaping the minds of the next generation of mutants. I have two such recruits already, a young man named John Allerdyce and another named Lance Alvers, known as Pyro and Avalanche respectively. I would like to bring them here to attend your school for mutants." Erik further revealed.

"I've already begun recruiting young mutants of my own, what makes you think that I would even want these two?" Emma asked skeptically.

"Because their power is without question, and with the proper guidance, they could quickly and easily reach their full potential. Miss Frost, I am not a teacher and I do not presume to fool myself into thinking other wise. In exchange for training these and the other recruits that I bring to you, I will leave my own personal liaison Raven Darkholme to assist you. I would also like you to provide sanctuary to some of my other associates, and in exchange, you would have full access to the services of my new Brotherhood. Seeing as I learned of this school with little trouble, and judging by the ease at which I was able to waltz in here, you might find having them around may come in handy in case trouble decides to rear its ugly head." Erik offered.

"I think it already has. You've made an interesting proposal, but once this new Brotherhood is assembled and completely trained, how would that benefit me?" Emma inquired.

"You would have access to more power and influence than you could imagine, taking your place as a Queen at my side if you so desire." Erik said to her.

"I'm sorry, but being offered that title doesn't do much to impress me." Emma, who already held the title of White Queen of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, replied.

"In the new world order that I intend to create, you would be a Queen, the likes of which the world has never seen before…" Erik promised her.

-------------------

In almost no time following Magneto's proposal, Pyro and Avalanche were enrolled into the Massachusetts Academy as students. Emma Frost's student senior-squad was soon being groomed as part of a new and revamped Brotherhood, a fact which the rest of the student body has yet to be informed of. Magneto also had Mystique give Emma the files that they had obtained from Deathstrike's computer on mutants that had already been identified, which Emma added to the database of potential recruits that she had been collecting on her own. With her thoughts now returning to the present, Emma Frost went back to looking through those very files that sat on her desk--

-_Manh, Xi'an Coy…_

As she considered who she would attempt to bring into the fold next…

-------------------

Next Chapter: The junior X-Men get a surprise, while Storm answers the question, 'How do you talk to an Angel?'…

------------------

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you liked what's happened so far, especially all of the angst with Bobby and Rogue. As far as Ororo, just stay tuned because I don't think you're going to want to miss that!

**Episodic**- A brother like Bobby…guess he must come in handy on a hot, summer day. (Just kidding, I know what you meant.) I'm glad you like Jubilee in here, it's fun just hearing what she's going to say, just like it's fun to read what you have to say. As far as Generation X, as you'll soon see this Massachusetts Academy is not quite like the one that had Skin, Husk, Chamber, M, and the rest of the gang. But, it should still be interesting nonetheless…

**plutospawn**- I'm glad that I'm able to relay that kind of detail that makes it so vivid to you. Forge and Storm? Sometimes if you wish hard enough, you just might receive. Since you brought up Essentials Volume 5 (I think they're great too, and I have most of the volumes), I think you may recognize a few of the characters from there in this upcoming chapter…

**MoonlightPhoenix3**- The 'Black' Tom Cassidy? I wouldn't be a true fan of the X-Men, if I didn't know who he was. But, as far as him helping his cousin, I think Tom would be more likely to help Sean to an energy blast from his shillelagh cane, than actually help him with information. But then again who knows, maybe Tom'll be a lot more mellow, if and when he finally shows up…

**TheDreamerLady**- Of course, it wouldn't be the Massachusetts Academy without Emma. Bobby and Rogue have some things to work through in their relationship, all the while having to deal with everything else around them. And I promise, you'll be seeing Angel in the near future. Don't worry about the late review, I take 'em whenever I can get 'em. So, you found 'Night of the Sentinels'…that very episode is what got me hooked on X-Men in the first place, so I hope you enjoy every single minute of it.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Oh, the plot's gonna get thicker than a jar full of peanut butter with nothing to drink to wash it down, so I hope you're ready. The plot-gremlins that helped me write this wanted me to say thank you for your wonderful compliments, and say that it's reviews like your's that keep them going. (But seriously, thanks for the review).

**Independent Fire**- Glad you liked the last chapter and the developing love-triangle/angst. Where is Logan off to, guess you'll just have to wait to see. As far as Rahne, stay tuned because she may get some help to get her back to normal, and from an unexpected source. As far as the Massachusetts Academy, just read on and get all that you can handle…

**Moon Comix**- Glad you liked it so far. It may be a while before the X-Men find Moira, but that doesn't mean that you won't get to see where she is in the very near future. As far as Logan, I promise to show how he and Mariko have been keeping in close contact with each other, possibly through a video-phone or by other means.


	4. Not Kids Anymore

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.

--------------------------------

Chapter 4- Not Kids Anymore

--------------------------------

A/N: I shortened this chapter quite a bit, but it still ended up being longer than I had intended.

It had been one week since a good number of the residents at the Xavier School for the Gifted had returned from various journeys around the world. Their return followed disturbing news that some of its students and teachers had been involved in a fight for their very lives, going up against the mutant-hunting monstrosities called Sentinels. But, even more shocking than what had happened to them on Muir Island, was the revelation that one of their own may have had a hand in those robots' construction. This apparent connection to a former student had angered Ororo Munroe, the X-Man code-named Storm, to no end.

Ororo marveled at the deep level of insight that her teammate and close friend, Kurt Wagner possessed, and how that it seemingly allowed him to peer into a person's soul. Having barely known her for only a few hours, Kurt was able to look past the cool and reserved attitude that Ororo usually displayed to the rest of the world. What Kurt immediately saw before him was a woman who had been carrying a lifetime's worth of hurt, pain, and disappointment inside of her…

_"Someone so beautiful, should not be so angry?"_

_"Sometimes, anger can help you survive…"_

Ororo remembered those words just as clearly and vividly now, as when they were spoken between Kurt and her onboard the Blackbird nearly a year ago. While it was true that Ororo held a certain amount of anger within, it could be just as true that it had helped her to survive.

Her anger had helped her survive the horrific experience of being orphaned at a very young age, when her American-born father and Kenyan-born mother were both tragically killed. Her anger also helped Ororo to survive the years that followed, which seemed to bring only more misfortune and unhappiness in those early years of her life. It wasn't until she met a man named Charles Xavier, that she learned how to channel that anger into a more productive fashion. After spending some time at his School for the Gifted, Ororo had even come to the point where she felt comfortable in allowing others inside of that protective emotional shell that she had put up inside of her.

In particular, it was one young man that she came to trust enough to let in, and to allow herself to bond with on a very deep emotional level. But, always present was that anger from her youth, even though it now had been molded into the form of a newly discovered sense of purpose as she edged closer and closer to adulthood. It was that same sense of purpose in her life that helped her to survive the pain of having her heart broken by this same young man, who by this time she had fallen deeply in love with, and she had even considered accepting his proposal of marriage before their highly-emotional split.

Which brings us back to that connection between these new Sentinels, and that former student whom Ororo at one time had loved so much.

Ororo had been trying for the past week to contact Warren Worthington III, the winged former X-man who had been known during his time at the school as Angel. He, along with Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast and Storm herself, had made up Professor Xavier's first class of students. Ororo had left numerous messages for Warren at his penthouse suite, as well as at his office, but he still had yet to call her back. So, Ororo decided this morning to go directly to his office at Worthington Enterprises, and talk to Warren in person. After taking the elevator up to the top floor of the huge skyscraper that served as the company's main office in New York City, Ororo had been asked by the receptionist to take a seat. She told her that Mr. Worthington was in an important meeting, but that he would be with her shortly.

Two hours later, Ororo was still waiting.

And, judging by how the doors to the corporate boardroom were nearly ripped off of their hinges after being hit by a small and powerful gale-force wind, it was now fairly obvious that Storm was feeling as though she had been waiting long enough.

"**Miss, Miss, you will have to wait in the lobby**! Mr. Worthington is in the middle of a very important business conference with the board-members." The secretary shouted as she followed behind Ororo, who was walking into the currently occupied boardroom of Worthington Enterprises.

"Mr. Worthington has very important business that we need to discuss now!" Ororo replied loudly, as she stood in the now open doorway. Everyone then heard the faint sound of thunder booming from outside.

"Mr. Worthington, should I call security?" The secretary asked, although she had doubts as to what the building's security could do against someone that possessed the ability to trigger a mini-hurricane with just a thought.

"It's alright Eileen, Ms. Munroe is an old friend of mine." Warren replied, as he then turned back towards the other board-members inside of the room, some of whom had been knocked out of their seats by Storm's brief power display, "We can finish going over the rest of the quarterly projections later this afternoon."

After the board members quickly filed out of the boardroom and then shut the door behind them, Ororo and Warren were left there alone.

"You look great, 'Ro." Warren said with his trademark million-dollar smile, as the blonde CEO of Worthington Enterprises tried to break the uneasy tension in the room. He then walked over close to Ororo, his blue eyes looking directly into her brown ones, "It's wonderful to see you again."

"I wish that I could say the feeling was mutual." Ororo replied coldly, "I've been trying to get into contact with you for the better part of a week, why didn't you return any of my calls?"

"Because, I wasn't sure why you wanted to speak to me after all of these years." Warren honestly told her, "The last time we talked, you made it very clear how you felt about me."

"I'm not here on a social visit, if that's what you are thinking." Ororo said, as she forcefully handed him a folder that she had brought with her, "Would you care to explain this?"

With that, Warren took the folder and looked through its contents, which contained information on his very own company and its small subsidiary Dynatech Industries. The documents chronicled the development of Dynatech's new and experimental building material, and also showed financial records from the sale of a very large quantity of that special aluminum alloy not too long ago. Further digging revealed that the company that had bought the alloy had filed for bankruptcy almost immediately after the sale, and then sold off its assets virtually overnight, assets which became mysteriously untraceable after that.

"These look like confidential business documents, how did you get them?" Warren asked, as he continued to mull through the contents of the folder.

"Henry, and one of our students, were able to obtain them from the computer files of Worthington Enterprises." Ororo flatly told him, as she referred to the information that Hank and Kitty had gathered.

"So, did Hank come back to the school to help teach the kids how to commit computer crimes?" Warren asked in a displeased tone, as he laid the folder down on the large boardroom table.

"If you would bother to come around the school once in a while, you would know first-hand what's been going on." Ororo said defensively, "In this case, I believe that we had justification for going through Worthington Enterprises' financial records. The metal alloy that your subsidiary company manufactures was used in the production of Sentinel robots, the same Sentinels that attacked Muir Island recently and kidnapped Dr. MacTaggert. You know very well what the Sentinels tried to do when we first fought them, and I can't believe that you would actually help someone to revive that program."

"Wait a minute, do you really think that I'd knowingly have something to do with building those things?" Warren responded in an equally defensive tone.

"I'm not sure what to think anymore." Ororo replied, as she was leaning against the large oak table, "You behave as though you've cut the time that you spent with the rest of us out of your life completely. You couldn't even take the time from your busy schedule last year to attend Jean's memorial service."

Warren just looked at Ororo when she made that statement to him, and he then went to sit down in one of the chairs at the large table, before he responded.

"I was there." Warren stated simply, as he sat and looked to his right and out of one of the large windows that overlooked the impressive New York skyline.

"I certainly don't recall seeing you." Ororo challenged him.

"That was intentional. Nobody saw me, except for the Professor." Warren revealed, "I kept my distance at the cemetery, but Professor Xavier was still able to sense me. Can't sneak up on that guy, even now."

"That doesn't seem to be the case anymore, at least as of late." Ororo responded, referring to the Professor's recent injuries, "But, why would you hide from us? Jean was your friend, and more than that, the X-Men are family. Families are supposed to be there for each other in times of loss."

"Truth be told 'Ro, after I told the Professor that I was leaving the X-Men for good once we graduated, and then how I managed to screw things up between us when I cheated on you, I figured that I didn't really have much of a place there anymore. Then, after I heard about Jean, I kept wondering to myself if maybe I had stuck around, if I had been there with all of you, if things with her might have turned out differently. I suppose I didn't want to face you guys, because I was afraid of what that answer might be." Warren confessed, as he continued looking out at the open blue skies, the only place where he felt truly at peace whenever he got the chance to soar through it.

For the first time, in a long time, Ororo looked at Warren and she didn't feel angry. She definitely felt something, but she was sure that it wasn't anger. She realized that, despite how much he had hurt her all of those years ago, she did feel a small amount of sympathy towards him. Maybe, it had to do with the fact that she knew exactly where he was coming from. She knew first-hand what it was like to have that feeling of guilt when someone close dies, and to wonder if there was anything more that could have been done for them?

Ororo had replayed the events at Alkali Lake in her mind ad nauseum, in the weeks and months that followed. The strategist inside of her kept trying to see if there was something that she could have done differently, some alternate course of action that would have kept her best friend from having to sacrifice herself to save the rest of them. Although logic told Ororo that the answer was no, she wondered if a small part of her would always believe otherwise.

"Warren, no one is blaming you for Jean's death. There were quite a few of us there, and none of us seemed able to prevent it." Ororo said to him, "And, I am sure that the Professor would agree, you will always have a place among us."

"I'm not so sure. There are some things that just can't be healed or fixed, no matter how much time has passed or how much you may want them to." Warren told her.

"And in some instances you simply have to have faith that it can. A good friend told me that not too long ago, and I am now more inclined to agree with him." Ororo responded.

With those words spoken, Ororo looked at Warren as he continued to sit facing away from her and looking out of the large-pane window. After a moment of silence between them, Ororo turned around and left the boardroom. She hadn't gotten the answers to the questions that she had been initially seeking, but what was discussed this day was far more productive and beneficial for both her and Warren.

After Ororo had left, Warren turned back around to the table and picked up the folder that she had brought, staring at it intensely. He was now determined to get answers to the questions that she had posed to him moments ago.

"Eileen," Warren said, as he picked up the telephone in the boardroom and rang his secretary at her desk, "Would you please tell the vice president of Dynatech Industries, Cameron Hodge, that I need to see him as soon as possible. Also, ask him to bring the documents with him that pertain to a substantial sale from Dynatech Industries to a, now out-of-business, company named Wideawake Manufacturing…"

-------------------

Meanwhile back at the mansion, the junior X-Men were currently going through what had become a daily routine for them over the past week. In addition to their normal class load, they attended both morning and afternoon sessions in the state of the art training simulator located below the school, known as the Danger Room.

"Ah wonder what new surprise Cyclops has in store for this morning's workout?" Rogue asked, as she, Kitty, Bobby, Jubilee, and Peter walked down one of the corridors in the school's lengthy underground tunnel complex.

"Whatever it is, you can bet it's gonna leave all of us bruised and sore afterwards." Jubilee responded.

"Makes you wonder who's harder on us, him or Logan?" Bobby remarked.

"Like it matters. They both seem to get a kick out of finding some new way to keep us on our toes." Kitty added, as she and Peter walked along with the group holding hands.

Once the group made it to the student locker room area, they prepared to go in and change into their blue and silver X-Men uniforms, and then head down to the Danger Room. But, as Peter turned to go into the boys' locker, he felt a tug at his massive right forearm.

"What is wrong, Katya?" Peter asked, as he turned back to see that it was her trying to get his attention.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Kitty replied, as she looked up at the mountain of a young man before her.

"And that would be…" Peter asked her, unsure of what the youngest member of the junior squad was talking about.

"Where's my kiss? You know, for good luck in the Danger Room." Kitty smiled, "I'm pretty sure we're going to need it."

"I believe that you are over-exaggerating how difficult our training session will be." Peter replied, with a small smile.

"Well in that case, you can at least make me feel lucky." Kitty quipped.

With that, Peter bent down and quickly kissed his girlfriend in the empty hallway, before they parted ways to join their teammates in their respective locker rooms. But, as they had expected to continue with their normal morning routine, they soon learned that routine had hit a small snag.

"**What, is this supposed to be some kinda hint**?" Jubilee shouted very loudly, as she went back out into the hallway, just moments after briefly stepping into the girls' locker room, "Who swiped our uniforms?"

Rogue and Kitty had gone in right behind Jubilee into the locker room, and then followed her back out when they too saw the same thing. The three girls stood and wondered what had happened to their uniforms, which usually hung inside of glass display cases within the locker room. Then, they learned that they were not the only ones currently confused.

"Our uniforms are gone as well." Peter said, as he and Bobby walked back out into the hallway, and informed the girls' that they were in the same predicament.

"Maybe Jaime's playing another one of his practical jokes on us?" Bobby wondered aloud.

"Ah don't think it's him." Rogue responded, as she stood in the hallway and folded her arms in front of her, "Multiple Kid doesn't even know the combinations to the uniform cases, and even Ah don't think he and his dupes would be crazy enough to try 'n pull a stunt like this."

"You're right, darlin'. It wasn't him." A voice suddenly said, from behind the group.

All five teens turned around, and saw that it was none other than Logan. He was standing there dressed in his X-Men uniform, the one that Jubilee had modified for him by removing the sleeves from it, before he and Rogue went to Japan. He stood there leaning against one of the cold, metallic walls in the sub-level corridor and after a moment of silence, Kitty decided to ask what the rest of the group wanted to know.

"Well, are you just gonna stand there grinning, or are you gonna tell us where they are?" Kitty asked Logan.

"Your new uniforms are in the adult locker rooms, 'short-stuff'." Logan informed the group.

"New uniforms?" Peter asked him.

"Yeah, new uniforms." Logan smirked, as he took his toothpick out of his mouth, "Congratulations kiddies, you've just been promoted to senior-status."

"**Allrriiigghhtt!!!**" The entire group seemed to exclaim simultaneously, after learning that their probationary status on the team was now history.

"What made the Professor decide to promote us all of a sudden?" Bobby asked Logan, as the group now walked down to the adult wing with Logan.

"The Prof, Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Beast, and me have been discussin' it ever since we all got back home. You five kids have shown that you have advanced control over your powers in the Danger Room sessions we've been putting you through, and you've more 'n proved that you can handle yourselves in a fight. We figured you earned the right to be treated as full members of the team, since you're puttin' your necks out on the line just the same as the rest of us." Logan replied.

"Bye-Bye baby clothes." Jubilee said happily, as they continued on.

"Keep in mind, this promotion doesn't mean things are gonna get any easier for you. Fact is, you're gonna be runnin' full-level Danger Room simulations, just like the rest of the grown-ups on the team. No more of that low-level combat garbage." Logan said, as they had now reached the men's and women's locker rooms, "Speakin' of which, I'm due in the Danger Room right now. Once all of you get changed into your new threads, come on down because you'll be runnin' your scheduled session next."

Logan then turned and continued on down the corridor to the Danger Room, while the newly promoted senior-squad went to change and get prepared. When they emerged some time afterwards, they were dressed in their new black leather uniforms that, while maintaining their sense of conformity, were still custom tailored for each individual.

Jubilee was the first to emerge in her black uniform, which was trimmed in a medium yellow color. It also included a long, black leather coat, a pair of gloves with the finger holes cut out of them, and a pair of stylish black-rimmed glasses with yellow lenses. Next to come out was Bobby, who's uniform was simply trimmed in an ice-blue color and was nowhere near as accessorized as Jubilee's. Peter followed right behind Bobby, wearing a black leather uniform trimmed in a dark-red color. Missing were the sleeves to the top portion of his uniform, just like Logan's. It was meant to allow him better mobility and flexibility when his body underwent its transformation from flesh and blood, to living organic-steel that dramatically increased his size and mass. His leather pants were also looser fitting, for the same exact reason. Last out were Kitty and Rogue. Kitty was dressed in a black outfit trimmed in dark-pink, which had a belt with small compartments that allowed her to carry small tools for making minor mechanical repairs, such as on the Blackbird for instance. Rogue's uniform was trimmed in green and had a black leather hood attached to it, most likely because Logan had heard her mention that she wanted to add one when they were in Japan. Slung across her back on a special shoulder-strapped harness was her Katana sword, the same sword that Remy had given to her when they were in Japan. He had given it as a gift, as they prepared for the biggest fight that she had ever been in, at least up to that point.

The group then made their way to the Danger Room, and they felt like a new team.

They truly felt like X-Men.

Once they reached the control booth above the Danger Room, they opened the door to see the Professor sitting in there wearing his customary suit, and Dr. McCoy in his team uniform that was trimmed in a turquoise shade.

"These new uniforms are so cool." Kitty said, as the senior-squad walked inside.

"I am pleased that you like them." Professor Xavier replied, "And, I hope that you understand the additional responsibility that comes along with them."

"Of course we do, Professor." Rogue responded, on behalf of the entire group.

As the senior-squad then moved closer to the front of the control booth, to get a better look through the large window that allowed them to see inside of the Danger Room, Bobby took a seat next to Hank.

"So, what have you come up with for us today, Dr. McCoy?" Bobby asked Hank, as they sat in front of the instrument panel that controlled the Danger Room.

"There's no need to worry, I've chosen something rather special for all of you. You may think of it as a graduation present, from yours truly." Hank replied, smiling while he continued looking down to monitor the program that was currently running.

Inside of the Danger Room were Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Gambit, who had for the most part recovered from the injury that he had received in Japan. Cyclops was in his standard black on black trim uniform, while Wolverine was in his modified black on bronze outfit. Nightcrawler wore a uniform trimmed in dark blue, which included specially-tailored footwear made to accommodate his uniquely shaped feet and also allowed him to continue climbing surfaces like he normally did. And Gambit had on a team uniform that was fairly similar to the one he had worn before joining the X-Men. It was black leather trimmed in dark brown, and covered by a long, black leather trench coat. True to form, he was in there with his metallic quarterstaff in one hand, and a handful of charged playing cards in the other.

"What are they doing in there?" Peter asked, as the group marveled at the sheer skill and ability of the four men inside.

"They are running a field-ops simulation." Hank replied.

Everyone in the control booth watched as the four men within strategically took out the opposition forces, composed of robotic android troops. Nightcrawler would teleport from point to point in the environment that had been made to look like an abandoned military base, drawing the fire of the androids that were shooting energy-powered rifles at them. Cyclops methodically hit each android with a tight, focused beam, disabling their targeting systems. This left Gambit and Wolverine to finish them off, as a flurry of kinetically charged cards and adamantium claws made short work of their opponents.

_Mission objective complete_…

Was the message heard within the Danger Room and in the control booth, as the automated voice from the computer system announced to everyone that the session was over, about ten minutes after the senior-squad had arrived.

"C'mon guys, that means it's our turn in the funhouse." Rogue, who served as the squad's deputy leader, said to the senior-team.

Instead of sitting down in the control booth like some of the others, Rogue had been standing with a foot up in one of the metal chairs and leaning forward to watch the melee down below. She had shown a very serious look on her face the entire time as she observed the others in the Danger Room. Rogue carefully made mental notes to herself on how Cyclops analyzed the weaknesses in their opponents, and then used the unique talents of Wolverine, Gambit, and Nightcrawler to exploit those weaknesses to their fullest. After re-running the entire scenario through her mind in fast-forward, Rogue moved away from the position that she had been perched in, and prepared to head down to the Danger Room with Jubilee, Shadowcat, Iceman, and Colossus for their workout.

"Kitty, before I forget, I need to see you in my lab later today." Hank said, as he quickly looked up at her from the instrument panel where he had been setting up the next training sequence.

"Why, what's the matter?" Kitty asked as she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, while her teammates continued on.

"There was something in the diagnostic tests that I ran on you, when you returned from Muir Island, that I just need to follow up on." Hank informed her.

"I thought you said that all of the MRI's and other tests checked out fine, and that there was no permanent damage or anything from when I fell and hit my head on Muir Island?" Kitty responded, with slightly more than a small amount of anxiety in her voice.

"Calm down, I don't believe that it is anything for you to get alarmed about. It's just something that I want to be one-hundred percent sure of, is all." Hank assured her, as Kitty took him at his word and left the control booth to join the others.

--------------------

While the senior-student squad made their way down to the Danger Room, the previous participants were making their way up to the control booth and discussing how their session had gone.

"Dat wasn't too bad, considerin' it was my first time in there." Remy said, as he entered the control booth with staff in hand. He was talking to Logan, who followed him in second, "At any rate, you've shown me dat you still move pretty good. Well, for an old man dat is."

With that baited response, Remy got the intended rise out of Logan that he was looking for.

"I'll show you 'old man', Cajun." Logan quickly retorted, "Me and you can go one-on-one in the Danger Room, when the kids get through. And this time, I'll do a lot more 'n just toss your sorry butt off of a rooftop, like I did when we first met and faced off in Japan."

"Logan, I never thought that I would see the day when someone could get under your skin." Kurt said, as he and Scott entered the control booth. Kurt then joined in on Remy's good-humored ribbing of Logan, "You are going to have to learn to take a joke, without resorting to threats of bodily injury."

"Oh, I can take a joke just fine. Hell, I'm a barrel of laughs when you get right down to it." Logan smirked, as he pulled a cigar from one of the pockets on his uniform, " I was just offerin' the 'older kid' over here an up close and personal demonstration of what this old man can do."

With that, Logan instinctively went to reach in his pocket for a lighter for his cigar, but remembered the reactions that he got from Scott and the Professor the last time when he lit one up. It was after a workout, and the three of them were all in the control booth together. So, Logan just kept the unlit cigar in between his index and forefinger on his right hand this time. He decided to partake of it later, probably when he was alone, or when it was just him and Remy together.

"At least I don't have to hear any damn lectures from Lebeau." Logan stood and thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Hank had finished cueing up the next Danger Room sequence and was ready to run the simulation, as the senior-squad made their last minute preparations down below before the exercise started.

"Is everybody ready?" Rogue asked the group, as she pulled her sword form it's sheath on her back and held it down by her side.

"Don't 'cha know, I'm always ready." Jubilee said with a smile, as she pulled her yellow tinted sunglasses down from above her forehead, where she had been wearing them.

Next Colossus converted his body into organic-steel, his skin now brightly gleaming from the lights within the Danger Room.

"Oooh, my knight in shining armor." Shadowcat sarcastically said, as she teased Colossus.

"Very funny." Colossus said, as he looked down at her and let that single phrase be his only response to her remark.

"Well 'knight', if you're going to play the role, you might as well have the accessories to go along with it." Iceman jokingly added, as he had just finished covering his entire body in a protective ice shell.

He then went about the task of creating two very large swords made out of solid ice. He closed his eyes and deeply concentrated, as he pictured in his mind how he wanted the double-edged weapons to look, making sure that the blades were as sharp as possible. He also made the long handles strong enough to at least survive a few blows from his super-powered teammate striking with them. As a result, they were as thick as most normal people's limbs. When Iceman was finished, he laid them on the ground, since they were too big and heavy for him to move. But, Colossus had little trouble in picking them up and hoisting them up so that the flat edge of each sword rested perpendicularly across his shoulders.

"I assume that you are ready to begin?" Professor Xavier asked them, over the loud speaker in the Danger Room.

"We're ready." Rogue affirmed, as she looked up.

"I'll write the evaluations of the students' performance today, if that's okay Professor?" Scott said to the Professor from within the control booth.

"Yes, that would be fine." The Professor replied to Scott, and then turned towards Hank, "You may start the program."

A dense fog started to roll in around the squad in the Danger Room, as its holographic engine fired back to life and began to change the appearance of the very room around them. They all stood close to each other in the center of the room, and waited to see what their task was going to be.

In a matter of seconds, it was obvious. They heard the sound of loud and heavy thuds coming towards them from various directions, paced in a syncopated rhythm that signaled something very large was walking towards them.

And, they were right.

"Why am I not even surprised?" Jubilee sighed, as she looked up and saw what their target objective was, "Thanks a lot Beast. I am sooo not sending you a thank-you card."

"**Halt Mutants**…"

A booming voice gave them the command, as the group realized that their first training exercise following their promotion to senior-status, was to face and defeat a small contingent of Sentinels.

"Everyone, evasive action! Don't make yourself an easy target for them." Rogue shouted to the rest of her squad, as they all started to scatter in various directions and better position themselves for their own attack. Well, almost everyone moved.

While Colossus had been more than ready for a rematch against the monsters that he had faced and fought on Muir Island, his girlfriend and teammate who was also there with him was far less enthused to see the huge robots, which towered at nearly twenty feet tall.

Shadowcat wanted to run, but she remained motionless and just watched as one of the Sentinels marched straight towards her.

"Kitty, move it girl!" Rogue yelled at her, in an attempt to get her attention.

"Katya, quickly you must phase out of its way!" Colossus also called out to her, as he dropped the ice swords that Iceman had made for him and started to run towards her, but it was to no avail.

Kitty felt like she was frozen, both in spirit and in time. Seeing the Sentinel in front of her, took her right back to that horrible night on Muir Island. It brought back the memories of how scared she felt when she, unexpectedly, ran into one of the Sentinels inside of Dr. MacTaggert's research laboratory. Kitty hated the way that its cold, inhuman eyes scanned her. They didn't really look at her, but just scanned her only to detect whether or not she was a mutant. The Sentinel didn't see a girl that was nearly fifteen years old, a girl that had scraped her knees probably a hundred times learning to roller skate when she was little, a girl that cried for an entire week when her best friend next door moved away because she knew she wasn't going to see him again, or a girl that got so sick one time that her parents' had to keep a day and night vigil by her bedside because they feared the worse, and were relieved when she fought through her illness and managed to pull through. All that the Sentinel saw was a genetic aberration; one which needed to be exterminated like most people would a common household pest.

Back in the present, Kitty was consciously telling her body to move, to run, but her muscles simply wouldn't respond. Luckily for her, being part of the X-Men means being part of a team. And, that means that teammates look out for one another.

"So, you trying to prove a point or something by playing chicken with that Sentinel, Kitty?" Iceman said, as he rode his ice-slide over to scoop Shadowcat up in one arm and use his free hand to continue the slide that they immediately departed on, right before the Sentinel fired an energy blast from its hand.

"Yeah, um, sorry. I kinda zoned out for a sec." Shadowcat replied, as she regained her composure while riding with Iceman, "I wasn't expecting to see any Sentinels in this session."

"Well, now that we've gotten that little surprise out of the way, what do you say we set these suckers up for a big fall?" Iceman proposed, with a cool grin across his icy face.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Shadowcat replied, as they continued riding his slide and went to regroup with the others.

"Hey, don't let these things spook you. They're just like the battle-droids we've been practicin' on, just bigger and with a holographic makeover." Rogue said, as she was running and dodging one of the Sentinels that had locked in on her, "We'll just take 'em out the exact same way."

"So what's the plan boss-lady?" Jubilee said, as she and Colossus ran over to where Shadowcat, Rogue, and Iceman had now gathered as a tall ice barricade had been erected.

"Jubilee, use your plasma paffs to focus on their visual sensors and blind their ability to scan us." Rogue said, as she started to reveal her plan, "Shadowcat, phase into the floor below us and come up around their legs. If you phase right through them, that should disrupt their circuitry long enough for Iceman to freeze their upper torsos. And Iceman, make sure that you concentrate on their arms and hands, so they can't fire a stray energy blast and get lucky by hitting one of us."

"And what should I do?" Colossus asked her.

"Once they're immobilized, you can play yourself a big game of dominoes and knock 'em all down." Rogue answered, "Then we can go for their weak point, and finish them off for good."

As the senior-squad went out from behind the ice wall and followed Rogue's plan, those observing from above commented on what they were watching.

"Rogue seems to have come up with a very effective battle-field tactic." Scott commented, as he watched the students go about the process of taking the Sentinels down, "She seems to be a lot more comfortable now in her role as the team's leader, than she was before I left to travel with Alex and Lorna."

"All the girl needed was a little self-confidence, and to start believin' in herself." Logan responded, "I think our time in Japan helped show her that she's as good and as capable as we've been tellin' her."

"That was apparent when she scored so highly on her field operations aptitude exam, after she took it for just the first time." Professor Xavier said to them, "That in itself is no small feat."

"It would seem that you and Ororo may finally have some competition in the future, when it comes to the leadership department." Hank jokingly turned, and said to Scott.

Then, the control booth felt a small tremor run through it as everyone within looked to see that the participants in the Danger Room had disabled the Sentinels. Colossus had knocked the first one down, and was on his way to quickly take down the other four robots.

"Now that they're down, everybody remove the main processor from the right, rear part of their computer brains." Rogue said, as she and the others went to accomplish their final task.

Shadowcat was first to go over to one of the Sentinels, which was now lying on the ground, and she simply phased her hand into the right side of its head and removed its large computer-processing chip. Jubilee was second, as she concentrated and increased the strength of the plasma energy that she generated, to burn a hole into the side of another robots brain and remove its processor. Iceman created a crowbar made of ice for himself, twirling it around as he pried the processor out of the Sentinel near him, while Colossus quickly and violently punched a hole into the side of his Sentinel and removed the component. Finally, Rogue took her sword and used it to forcefully cut open the area near the base of the skull of her Sentinel, and quickly found the square-shaped component that controlled it. Then, all five individuals brought their chips with them as they walked over and gathered together in a circle.

"So big guy, you want to do the honors?" Iceman asked Colossus, as he now created a large sledgehammer made of ice and handed it to his Russian teammate.

"It would be my pleasure." Colossus replied, as everyone put their processor chips into one pile on the floor, and then Colossus proceeded to smash them with one hammer blow. Then, they heard the message that they had been waiting for.

_Mission objective complete_…

"Congratulations, students." Professor Xavier said to the squad from the control booth, "You have beaten this exercise in almost record time. But, I am more pleased by the fact that you did so by working together as a team, and without needing to be told to do so."

-------------------

As the Danger Room went back to its default state, the Sentinels that had been defeated lost their holographic illusion and reverted to reveal their true appearance. They now looked like the ordinary and large battle droids that Hank had specially re-equipped, to help simulate the manner in which Sentinels behaved, for the X-Men's training purposes. As soon as the session was over, Remy left the control booth to go down and join the others, Rogue in particular, in the Danger Room. This left the Professor, Scott, Logan, Kurt, and Hank to discuss the next course of action that they had been planning for the last week.

"Well, I'd say that pretty much shows that we're ready to go Sentinel hunting, and check out this base you were tellin' us about off in the Adirondacks, Summers." Logan said to him.

"Hopefully it, along with Ororo's meeting with Warren this morning, will at least provide us a clue as to where Moira is being held." Professor Xavier commented.

"I'll start the pre-mission prep this afternoon." Scott replied to the Professor, "But, I wish that you would hold off on your trip to Washington D.C. until we return. I don't like the idea of you traveling alone, especially when we're not one hundred percent sure about who's really behind all of this."

"I understand your reservations, but there has been a Congressional hearing convened that is open to the public. Its purpose is to further discuss mutants, and what changes to national security need to be made in regards to them. I am certain that it may hold dire consequences for us all." Professor Xavier stated, "If I am able to, I would like to make sure that our voice is heard in those hearings."

"Then, I'm going to go with you. Storm can more than handle leading the exploration mission without me." Scott told him.

"Finding Moira and putting an end to these new Sentinels takes precedence over any concerns that you may have for my safety. Besides, I don't expect there to be any problems in our nation's capitol." Professor Xavier responded.

"Why don't you take a couple of the kids down there with you to D.C.?" Logan suggested, " If they can handle a Sentinel, then I'm sure they can do just as good of a job at playing bodyguard as the 'boy-scout' can."

"Then, it is settled." Professor Xavier said, as he closed the matter, "I will inform you later as to who will be accompanying me to Washington."

Back down in the Danger Room, Peter and Bobby had powered themselves down and had changed from their steel and ice forms, while the entire group took a moment to relax following their workout.

"We kicked some major butt in here." Jubilee boasted, as she pulled her shades off.

"And, Ah'd say we pretty much earned our stripes today." Rogue said, as she sat down on some debris left from one the battle-droid's shattered limb. She still had her Katana blade in hand, with the point of it resting against the metal floor.

"I just hope the real Sentinels prove to be this easy." Bobby said, as he stood next to Rogue.

"I have a feeling they will prove to be far more challenging when we next meet them." Peter stated, "They will most certainly be prepared to unleash their full power against us."

"Guys, you know what I think? I think that we just proved to everyone that we're 'A Force to be Reckoned With' too." Kitty gleefully remarked, as she stood next to Peter and the group quickly realized how true her statement might be…

-----------------

Next Chapter: The X-Men begin their search for the Sentinels, Professor Xavier travels to Washignton D.C. and finally, the return of** Wolfsbane**…

-----------------

A/N: Special thanks to everyone for all of the reviews of last chapter.

**Episodic**- Well, you're right about that being Karma's name at the end. And you'll get a good look at a few members of this story's version of 'the New Mutants' in the very next chapter. But, who said anything about killing off and traumatizing anyone, especially in regards to the Massachusetts Academy. With the addition of Magneto and his Brotherhood to their ranks, I think her students would stand more than a good chance against a certain green-haired time-traveler, if he ever decides to show up. Anyways, I'm putting a list at the end of this section with the codenames of the individuals listed in Emma's files.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you liked Pyro's middle name. If you think Emma's devious now, you haven't seen anything yet…

**TheDreamerLady**- Glad you liked all of the characters that were included in the last chapter, including Pyro, Boomer (Meltdown, Boom-Boom, 'the girl that blows stuff up'), Avalanche, and of course Firestar. Her limited series is still one of my favorite stories ever. When Catseye and Rahne finally meet, I'm sure that's going to be a site to see. Yep, Manual is pretty much his usual arrogant self. As far as who Tarot is, if you noticed the folder that Emma was holding when Mystique walked in, it was marked _Colbert, Marie-Ange_, which is actually Tarot's real name. But that's alright, you'll get a better chance to get more familiar with her character in future chapters. I'm pretty sure that Karma's nickname when she was at Xavier's was Shan, which was short for Christian (but spelled X'ian). The 2's and 3's just meant that there were multiple siblings that had manifested mutant powers. Anyways, get ready for a nice little dose of Angel coming up…

(P.S.- Yeah 'Night of the Sentinels' truly got me hooked. It actually motivated me to go to a comic shop for the first time, just so I could find out more about these characters that I had just seen on TV. I think the first issues I picked up were part of the X-Cutioner's Song and an X-Men Classic issue, which reprinted the issue where Logan and Mariko were supposed to get married, if you can believe that. And your friend shouldn't feel bad about being freaked out, I was surprised when I saw Gambit in X-Men: Evolution, and then when I started reading comics again, and saw that he had ditched his fuschia gear. But then again, I guess it was about time.)

**Cailleach Bheur**- Wow, thank you so much for such a glowing review. I'm glad you liked the two previous stories, and this one as well. I intentionally tried give all of the characters multiple dimensions, which is why I wrote Bobby the way that I did. I actually like his character, just like I like all of the characters in the X-Universe, and breaking him and Rogue up had nothing to do with me hating him in any way. As far as him and Rogue getting back together, however, I can't make any promises. But, I can promise that Bobby's romantic life will definitely remain very active throughout this story.

**MoonlightPhoenix3**- Glad you liked the last chapter. As far as Emma and the Hellfire Club, I intend to explore that in greater detail in future chapters (I wanted to go better in depth last chapter, but I thought it was already long enough. But, if you're into reading comics, I think upcoming issues of UXM may be dealing with the Hellfire Club as well.). And you're pretty much dead-on about Roulette, her powers work similarly to Wanda's hex-powers, but Roulette's powers never seemed to be quite as unpredictable.

**plutospawn**- Glad you liked the 'bad' Emma. I don't think it's so much you being trapped in one particular decade, its just that, at least when it comes to Emma anyways, she just seemed more interesting as a villain with her own motivations that ran in contrast most of the time to Xavier's dream. I think that by killing off her students, we never got to see what she really had in store for them. (To be honest, I think they would've eventually become something similar to what X-Corps are now.)

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you liked the twist, and the brief exchange of Kiotr action for something a little different in the last chapter. As far as Storm and Angel, just read a little ways down…

**Moon Comix**- Glad you enjoyed a little bit of 'alternative school'. I normally don't put much in the way of swearing in my stories, but I thought it was a good way of showing the difference in attitudes between Xavier's students and those at the Massachusetts Academy, especially with Lance and John.

**EmeraldKatsEye**- Glad you liked Emma in this story, and you're right, she's nowhere near being an ex-villain just yet.

-----------------------

A/N: Here are the codenames of a few of the potential recruits that Emma was looking at. Some of them might be more recognizable than others, depending on your knowledge of the Marvel Universe.

_-Aaronson(2)-Christopher, Jesse_

They are two brothers, **King Bedlam** and **Jesse Bedlam**.

_-Blevins, Sally_

She goes by the name of **Skids**.

-_Callasantos(2), Maria, Lucia_

These are two sisters, who go by **Feral** and **Thornn**.

_-Kleinstock(3)-Sven, Harlan, Eric_

These are brothers, they're known simply as **The** **Kleinstock Brothers**.

_-Colbert, Marie-Ange_

A young French native, who goes by the name of **Tarot.**

-_Manh, Xi'an Coy_

Her code-name is **Karma**.

A/N: Just to let everyone know, I got the idea for having the black uniforms trimmed in various colors after reading All American Girl by Lucas'sgirl.


	5. On and On

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.

-----------------------------------

Chapter 5- On and On

-----------------------------------

It was a mostly cloudy and overcast morning as the Blackbird, the supersonic jet used by the X-Men, prepared to lift off from its underground hangar located beneath Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted. It had been not quite forty-eight hours since the team's junior student-squad had been promoted to senior status, and now most of the X-Men were on their way to begin a search for where the Sentinel's new base was located, which would hopefully also reveal where Dr. Moira MacTaggert was being held.

"All systems are a go. Prepare for take off." Scott said, as he and Ororo sat in the cockpit and went through their usual pre-flight procedure. The hangar's ceiling doors, which also served as the school's basketball court, quickly retracted and the Blackbird's vertical thrusters fired off, sending the plane into a rapid upward ascent.

"E.T.A. to our destination should be about 35 minutes." Ororo said, as she talked through one of the headsets that both she and Scott were wearing, as the plane soon leveled off at a steady altitude.

"Is everything running smoothly?" Forge asked, as he came up to the cockpit area a few minutes after takeoff. Although he wasn't an active member of the team, he decided to join the X-Men on their current expedition. Forge thought he would be able to lend his technical expertise in the event that they did find something at the abandoned base of Bolivar Trask, which was located due north in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.

"It appears to be so far. Apart from redesigning the instrument panel, what other modifications have you made to the Blackbird?" Ororo asked Forge, as he stood in the area between her and Scott and bent down, looking at the instrument panel's readouts for himself.

"Well, I re-routed the control systems, so that it goes into a fail-safe, back-up mode in the event of a momentary power loss. Hopefully, it will prevent another complete system failure, like the one that was described at Alkali Lake. Other than that, all I've had time to do is rearrange and increase its passenger seating capacity, and upgrade the plane's shielding system. It should cloak the Blackbird from most other radar arrays out there. And after studying that Sentinel that was brought back from Muir Island, the shielding should jam their sensors too." Forge revealed, "But, that's only the beginning of the upgrades that I intend on performing."

"Precisely, what else do you have planned?" Ororo now asked, as she looked over at Forge and was very much intrigued by what he had to say.

"I've been working on an experimental fuel delivery system, which some of the major airplane manufacturers have already shown an interest in." Forge revealed, "An airliner, for example, could fly ten times farther without the need to refuel. I also believe it would greatly increase the fuel efficiency of any vehicle that is equipped with it. That is, if it works."

"For someone considered to be one of the world's greatest inventive minds, you certainly don't sound very sure of yourself." Ororo warmly commented, with a small smile.

"You never know how something is going to work, until you actually have the chance to test it out. My mutant ability allows me to invent complex instruments and devices, with the exact details seemingly working themselves out." Forge explained to her, "Ninety-nine percent of the time my inventions work without a hitch, but I'm always worried about which one will fall into that one percent. I suppose it is a good thing, though, at least it keeps me from getting over-confident and sloppy with my work."

"I would doubt that. At times, you seem to be as methodical and precise in your efforts as Henry." Ororo replied, "But, what you are proposing does sound revolutionary and rather interesting."

"If you'd like, I can show you the unfinished prototype that I've been working on with the second Blackbird down in Hangar B, when we get back to the school." Forge offered.

"That would be nice." Ororo said, as she nodded her head in acceptance, before turning and looking back at the instrument panel in front of her.

-----------------------

Meanwhile, back in the passenger section of the Blackbird, Peter was sitting and busily drawing in his notebook-sized sketchpad.

"So, what'cha drawin', _Mon Ami_?" Remy asked Peter from the opposite side of the seating aisle, as he had been watching the young artist at work.

"This? It is a picture of my brother Mikhail." Peter answered, as he turned the unfinished sketch towards Remy so that he could see it.

"Oh yeah, Rogue told me what happened wit' him. I'm sorry 'bout your loss." Remy told Peter, as he recalled Rogue informing him about Peter's brother, Russian cosmonaut Colonel Mikhail Rasputin, who had died recently during a test-flight of an experimental spacecraft.

"Thank you." Peter said in response to Remy's sympathetic words, "Sometimes, I find myself sketching different pictures of him from the way that I remember him when we were younger. Sometimes, I do it without even realizing it until I am halfway finished."

"I s'ppose dat's only t'be expected. He was your brother, and it sounds like you two was pretty close." Remy surmised, "I know how I'd feel if it was me and my brother Henri."

"You have a brother?" Peter asked him.

"Yeah, back home in New Orleans." Remy revealed.

"I've been meaning to ask you, how is it that you managed to run into Rogue and Logan so far from home, halfway around the world in Japan?" Peter inquired.

"You could just say I needed to get away from some family problems back home, So, I jumped on de first t'ing smokin'." Remy told him.

Remy was to referring to what had happened with Bella Donna Boudreaux, the woman that he had been secretly dating. She was from a family that was at bitter odds with Remy's own family, and those bad feelings culminated themselves in a fight between Remy and Bella Donna's brother Julien, whom he ended up killing in self-defense. Remy's father then suggested that he leave New Orleans before a full-scale war between the two families erupted, and that he not return.

Peter meanwhile proceeded to flip through a few pages in his sketchpad, before handing it to Remy.

"That is one of my favorites. It is of my little sister, Illyana." Peter told him.

"Cute kid." Remy said, as he examined the sketch of the young girl with a winter-themed backdrop behind her.

"I call her 'My Little Snowflake'. Just as each snowflake is different and unique, to me there is no other like her." Peter remarked, with tremendous pride in his voice.

Just then, Rogue returned from the rear of the plane to join them.

"So, what're you two talkin' about?" Rogue asked, as she walked up carrying a large duffle bag and big black case in her hands. She took both items and sat them down in the aisle next to her seat.

"Nothin' much. Petey here was just showin' me his fine works of art. Hangin' around wit' him, maybe I'll soak up enough knowledge t'show me what t'look for, when me and you go to one o' those fancy museums together, _Chere_." Remy told her.

With that statement, Rogue stopped and looked down at Remy.

"Is that your way of askin' me out on a date, Mr. Lebeau?" Rogue inquired with a slight grin, as she then went to sit down in the chair next to him.

"Only if de answer's yes." Remy replied, wearing his best poker face.

"Ah never took you for the type to do pre-date homework." Rogue commented, as she put her leather-gloved hand over his.

"Dat's because you're worth a man puttin' a little extra effort in for. Besides, I gotta keep on my toes wit' de resident art expert sittin' back there." Remy said, as he motioned to the back section of the Blackbird where Logan, Jubilee, and Kurt were.

"I heard that, Cajun…" A gruff voice called out, as he replied from the back of the plane.

"Big surprise, de man can hear everyt'ing." Remy commented.

Rogue then lifted the large carrying case that she had brought with her up from the aisle floor, and then handed it to Remy.

"Would you hold this for a minute?" Rogue asked him, as she now unzipped the other large duffle bag that was still located on the floor.

Remy's curiosity immediately got the best of him, and he unlatched the large case in his lap to see what was inside. He wanted to know what in there was so important that Rogue had to go retrieve it from one of the compartments in the back of the Blackbird.

"Damn, what you plannin' on huntin' wit' dis?" Remy asked Rogue somewhat sarcastically, as he pulled a fully assembled crossbow out of the case and held it in both of his hands.

"Maybe a Sentinel or two, if we get lucky." Rogue replied.

Rogue then took out the arrows for her crossbow from the large bag on the floor. From that same duffle bag, she also took out another smaller case that contained the arrowheads for them. The arrowheads were cone-shaped, measured about two inches in diameter and contained explosive materials within, which she pointed out to Remy as she screwed them onto the ends of the arrows.

"Your Daddy teach you how t'handle hardware like dis?" Remy asked her, after she had assembled more that a dozen of the explosive tipped arrows.

"No, my Daddy didn't have anything to do with it. But, you can thank the 'art expert' in the back for givin' most of us our self-defense and weapons usage training." Rogue told him.

"But unlike the rest of us, it seemed as though you greatly enjoyed becoming so thoroughly proficient in the use of virtually every weapon known to man." Peter said to Rogue with a small laugh.

"Ah just wanted to be as prepared as Ah possibly could, that's all." Rogue responded, as she looked over at Peter.

"Don't worry 'bout dat. Thanks to de art _Professeur_, you sound like a regular Five Fingers of Death." Remy told her, as he held those five fingers in his hand, while Rogue took a break from putting her arrows together.

"Well, you could've said that about me before Ah got any special training." Rogue jokingly responded, as she referred to her own mutant power. Sitting there, she gazed into Remy's red on black eyes, which she thought were as unusual as they were beautiful.

--------------------

"Read 'em 'n weep! I win again!" Jubilee excitedly said, as she and Logan finished playing a hand of cards in the back of the Blackbird, "You know, this is starting to become a habit."

"Winning two games ain't a habit." Logan replied, as he picked the cards up from the foldout cot that was located in between the benches that they were seated in, which they had turned into their makeshift card table, "Besides, you haven't beaten me since you got lucky with that one hand on our way down to Nova Roma."

"That's because we haven't played since then. I can smell a trend starting, can't you?" Jubilee proclaimed.

"She may have a valid point, _Herr_ Logan." Kurt added, as he sat up on another bench in the rear of the plane.

"Don't you go encouragin' her. It's bad enough I gotta put up with Lebeau's constant braggin' as it is." Logan replied to Kurt.

"Which makes me wonder why he hasn't joined you two, since this activity would seem ideal for him?" Kurt asked.

"Probably, because he's too busy tryin' out his latest pick up lines on Rogue. Plus, Lebeau's a pure poker man. He only likes to play when there are stakes involved, whether it's in cards or life in general. Since I don't play for money with these kids, he's got no motivation to try and rig this game and cheat like he did to beat me before." Logan said, as he recalled the card games that he played with Remy on the plane ride from Japan back home.

"So, anyone that beats you is automatically a card cheat, huh?" Jubilee asked Logan, as he dealt her another hand.

"No, Gambit's a card cheat. You just got lucky, kid." Logan smirked.

"Like, whatever. We'll see whether it's luck or skill with this hand." Jubilee said, as she selected her cards, "But, just remember who beat you last time, bubba."

----------------------

By the time that Jubilee and Logan had finished their hand, the Blackbird had arrived at its destination. It landed in a small clearing in the expansive wooded area that surrounded the Adirondack Mountains.

"Alright everyone, keep in mind the computer layout of this base that we went over last night, but also be prepared for any surprises that we may run into." Cyclops said, as the team left the plane and split up into two groups. The first went to enter the base through the main entrance at the bottom of the mountain where it had been built into. The second team went to go in through a smaller opening, higher up on the mountain.

After a short walk from the Blackbird, Cyclops, Colossus, Jubilee, Nightcrawler, and Forge all found themselves in front of a large steel door at the foot of the mountain base. Forge, like Rogue, had also decided to bring along a weapon. He carried a powerful energy rifle that he had built himself, in the event that they did end up in a fight with the Sentinels.

"Well, should we knock or something?" Jubilee asked the group.

"I say we let ourselves in." Nightcrawler remarked.

"I agree." Cyclops added, as he opened his optic visor to fire a tight and concentrated beam, which went straight down the center of the rusted door. The rest was up to Colossus, as he converted his body into solid steel. He proceeded to make short work of the door, as he easily pried it open to allow the group inside.

As Cyclops' team went to begin their search, Storm had Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine link hands with her at the bottom of the other side of the mountain. She then used her ability to control the weather to create a wind current, which carried the four of them up to a higher section of the mountain in almost no time. Once up there, they soon found a hatch on the ground that led down to the upper levels of the base's interior.

"Any ideas on how to open it?" Rogue asked the group, as she locked and loaded the digital firing mechanism on her crossbow.

"Well darlin', I definitely got an idea." Wolverine said, as he popped one set of claws from the housing within his forearm.

"Don't trouble yourself, dis one is on me. Hasn't been a door made dis master t'ief can't unlock." Gambit said, as he knelt down and proceeded to unlock the hatch on the grassy ground in a matter of minutes.

"Not too bad for a 'master thief', I suppose." Storm said to Gambit, as he stood back up.

"Really? Does dat mean you got some pointers for me?" Gambit sarcastically grinned.

"In all likelihood, I could probably teach you an entire course on the subject." Storm smiled in response, as she thought back to her life before joining the X-Men, and how in those younger years she often found herself on the wrong side of the law.

The group entered the hatch and cautiously descended down a lengthy ladder to the interior. Then, Wolverine led the way inside as they walked through a corridor in the base, which was almost entirely constructed of metal.

"Do your heightened senses detect anything?" Storm asked Wolverine, as they followed behind him.

"Nothin'. It smells like it's been a while since anyone's been in here." Wolverine replied, as they neared a staircase. They walked down the stairs and once they reached the bottom, the flashlight that Storm was carrying revealed that they were in a room with a number of large glass cylinders, a few of them cracked and broken open. The walls of the room had a charred appearance to them, as though an enormous fire had swept through it.

"What are those?" Rogue asked as she pointed towards the glass tubes, while everyone looked around the room for any clues that might prove helpful.

"They are holding cells. When we first fought the Sentinels, a few of us were captured by them. We were detained inside of those cells for the purpose of them further studying us." Storm answered.

"Creepy." Was the only thing that Rogue was able to utter in response.

"_Storm, Cyclops here. Do you copy…_" A voice said over the headset communicators that each X-men was wearing.

"Storm here. Have you found anything?" Storm asked him.

"Nothing so far. How about you?" Cyclops asked.

"Nothing here either." Storm replied.

"We're preparing to enter the manufacturing depot and check it out." Cyclops told her.

"We'll be there to join you in a moment." Storm said, as her group continued on through a few more empty rooms inside of the base. Eventually, both teams met up inside of what appeared to be a very large warehouse. It looked as though there had been a major fight in there, judging by the damage done to its structure.

"It looks like this base has been cleared out for the most part." Forge said to the entire group, as he held his rifle down by his side, "Whatever equipment with any use or value that might have been here before, seems to have been long removed."

As the group stood silent in the large space for a moment, Jubilee used her plasma sparkle-effect to illuminate the room. With that, something quickly caught the attention of Colossus.

"What is that?" Colossus asked, as he pointed with his flashlight at a large object within the room.

"It appears to be an enormous chair." Nightcrawler realized, "But who could possibly sit in such a thing?"

"That's where Trask's Mastermold unit was located." Cyclops answered.

"You said somethin' before about a Mastermold, somethin' about it bein' destroyed." Wolverine recalled.

"What we're standing in is where the Sentinel processing facility of this base was once located. A Mastermold is an extremely large version of a Sentinel, almost like a king Sentinel, capable of mass-producing Sentinel units inside of itself at an alarming rate." Cyclops explained, "When we fought the Sentinels here before, Bolivar Trask was nearly finished with his Mastermold unit and was about to activate it. We managed to destroy it just in the nick of time, along with a good portion of this base. Had he been able to fully utilize that unit, I don't know if any of us would have been able to stop it."

"Whoever is building these new Sentinels, do you believe that they could construct one of these Mastermolds?" Nightcrawler asked Cyclops.

"If they're able to build Sentinels of their own, then theoretically, I imagine that they could replicate the Mastermold design as well." Cyclops answered.

"Heaven help us if they do." Nightcrawler said, as he looked at the large chair, which much more closely resembled a giant metallic throne.

The group continued its search throughout the base for a while longer, until they realized that there was nothing there that would be of any help to them in their quest. As the X-Men later prepared to leave the base and board the Blackbird for home, they hoped that wherever their investigation took them next would prove to be more fruitful than today's endeavors.

----------------------------

While the X-Men were wrapping up their exploration of the Sentinel's former base, a small private jet was just taking off from a small airstrip on the outer edge of Westchester County. It was on its way to the nation's capitol, carrying those onboard there for a very special purpose.

"So, what did we do to win these field-trip tickets?" Kitty asked as she turned around in her seat to face Professor Xavier and Bobby, the three of them sitting a few seats apart from one another on the plane that had just become airborne.

Unbeknownst to Professor Xavier, while Bobby had been eagerly looking forward to putting his skills that he had been honing in the Danger Room to use against the Sentinels, Kitty was more than fine with being selected to go to Washington D.C. It wasn't as though she didn't want to be a part of the X-Men, she had volunteered for the position after all. And, she had effectively made her case to the Professor as to why she should be included on the team's student squad. Professor Xavier had been initially reluctant to allow someone her age to join, but he couldn't deny her after hearing the articulate manner in which she delivered her argument…

"_If someone like Colonel Stryker can bust into my home and drag me off in the middle of the night just because I'm a mutant, then shouldn't I at least be allowed to learn how to use those powers to defend that home and help protect the people in it_?"

But, the truth of the matter was that despite her desire to help fight the 'Stryker's' of the world, Kitty had learned firsthand just how serious and dangerous those conflicts could be. Ever since she had returned home from Muir Island, Kitty had been having recurring nightmares about the Sentinel that she had run across there. It was a fact, however, that she kept secret from everyone else on the team, including the love of her life Peter. Kitty already felt self-conscious enough about being a couple of years younger than everyone else on the senior-squad, and she didn't want them thinking that she couldn't handle the pressure of being on the team with them. So, she just hid what was going on inside of her, assuming that her anxiety was just temporary and that it would eventually fade away on its own.

"Would you believe that I had Logan draw straws?" Professor Xavier replied with a small smile, as he responded to Kitty's inquiry, while he looked out of the window next to him.

"As long as you don't say I ended up being the short straw, it's fine with me. Between Logan always calling me 'short-stuff', and Remy referring to me as 'petite', I'm seriously thinking of changing my code-name from Shadowcat to Munchkin." Kitty said sarcastically, as she moved her thoughts to a less stressful subject.

"It'd still be a better choice than your original idea for a codename, 'Sprite'." Bobby said to her, as he joined the conversation from his seat right behind hers.

"That was like a million years ago. Besides, I was just brainstorming, and that name didn't even end up making it to the final cut." Kitty replied.

"Probably, because you knew those soda people would come looking for you for infringing on their copyright." Bobby said with a laugh.

"**I'm gonna tell you for the absolute last time**, **it had nothing to do with a soda**! Besides, like 'Iceman' is such a creative and original codename. At least I moved past my first choice and came up with a decent one, you just stuck with the first name that popped into that frozen brain of yours." Kitty asserted.

"Come on, Iceman is so perfect. What would you have me call myself, 'Coldguy'?" Bobby responded, showing that he had no intention of backing down from the most dangerous mouth in the mansion.

"Whatever. All I know is that as soon as we get back home, I'm trading in these stupid glasses that I'm wearing and I'm getting a pair of contacts." Kitty now said, as she changed subjects and took off the eyeglasses that Dr. McCoy had recently recommended that she get.

It was after he had given her a second vision test in his lab and confirmed that she did indeed need them. Hank had initially run the tests on her to ensure that Kitty hadn't suffered any permanent injuries, following the fall of nearly thirty feet that she took while escaping from one of the Sentinels on Muir Island.

"What's the matter with them?" Bobby asked her, "I think they look alright."

"Because, with the braces and now the glasses, I look like such a dork. Besides, whoever heard of a superhero that wears glasses anyways?" Kitty responded.

"Well let's see, there's Cyclops and Beast, for starters. And, oh yeah, there's that Super-guy who wears them, even though that's only when he's in disguise." Bobby answered.

"Thank-you-comic-relief." Kitty sighed, as she heavily stressed each word.

While Kitty and Bobby continued their exchange, Professor Xavier was relegated to being a silent spectator to their conversation. He wondered to himself if Logan knew what he was doing, when he made the random selections on which students would be going to Washington? Meanwhile, Kitty and Bobby had already moved on to a new subject with which to continue their verbal barrage…

--------------------

Back at the mansion, Hank had just finished substituting in Scott's English class for him and was now on his way down to his lab, when he heard someone playing what sounded like a guitar. Or more accurately, it sounded like someone was being taught how to play a guitar.

"Just hold your right hand here, but keep your left hand at an angle like this." Alison said, as she showed Julio Esteban Richter, who always went by the simpler name of Rictor because of earth-shattering abilities or just plain Ric, the finer points on how to hold the instrument.

"But, it feels weird to hold it this way." Rictor replied, as the dark-haired Latino teen tried to readjust his fingers to accommodate his new grip on the neck of the guitar.

"It's gonna feel like that, until you get used to playing with proper form. But in the long run, it'll help you become a much better guitar player." Alison said, as she sat next to Rictor on the sofa in the main rec-room.

"Who knows, maybe one day you'll actually be good enough tah make records too." Samuel Guthrie, the blonde-haired Kentucky-native said, who also went by the descriptively accurate nickname of Cannonball. He had been sitting in another chair close by Rictor and Alison in the rec-room, while silently observing them together.

"Perhaps with enough practice, there might even be a variety show with your name on it in the future." Hank said, as he walked in to join them.

"I think we need to get the basics down first, then he can talk about going to Hollywood." Alison replied, as she looked up at Hank.

"The _Senora_ has taught me so much, and in just a few lessons." Rictor said, in reference to Alison's instruction.

"It's really no problem. These days I've got more than enough spare time on my hands to help show you how to play." Alison said, as she looked over at Rictor.

"Now, that sounds like an excellent idea, Ms. Blaire." Hank said to her, which left the young woman in her early twenties slightly confused.

"What does?" Alison inquired.

"Why teaching a music appreciation class." Hank revealed.

"Sounds nice, but I'm not a teacher." Alison said to him, as she stood up from the sofa where she had been seated next to Rictor.

"I think you're already more of a teacher than you may realize." Hank pointed out, "You certainly have some credentials in the field, and as you can see, the faculty currently has a glaring deficiency in our music department."

Alison stood there for a moment, to carefully consider what Hank was suggesting.

"Well, if you ask the Professor and he thinks it's okay, then it's fine with me. I'd be happy to do it." Alison said, as the idea of being able to share her love of music with others seemed like a fascinating prospect to her.

"Excellent, I will meet with you later to go over a potential class syllabus." Hank said, as he turned to head towards the elevator and go to his lab downstairs.

"Well, it looks like you guys have just gotten yourselves a new teacher." Alison said to Sam and Rictor, as she sat back down on the sofa.

"Is that cool or what?" Rictor said, as he strummed a chord from the guitar.

"Wait till the others hear about it." Sam added excitedly.

------------------------------

A short time later, while Alison and Rictor continued their lesson with Sam observing them, Hank went into his lab and pulled out some documents that pertained to scientific endeavors that he had been working on. It was research that he hadn't been able to give much time to lately, as he had been extremely busy serving as the school's acting Headmaster in Professor Xavier's place while he was out of the country. But now that the Professor was back, he intended to devote more of his time to his research, which was important to him for reasons of a very personal nature. As he rummaged through the drawer that contained some of his other items, Hank came across a framed picture that he usually kept on his desk. It was a photograph of the woman that he loved very much, and whom he knew loved him. But, because of other circumstances in their lives, the two of them were currently apart from one another.

While Hank sat and stared at the photograph for some time, his blue eyes and jet black hair reflecting back at him off of the glass in the picture's frame, three residents of the school were passing by outside in the sub-level corridor. They were on their way to make a very special visit. It had become a daily occurrence for Theresa Cassidy, the young Irish mutant nicknamed Siryn. But, unlike her previous visits, Theresa wasn't alone as she neared her destination.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" A voice said to Theresa in a very prim and proper tone. It belonged to Amara Aquilla, who had earned the code-name Magma, because of what generally happened to her surroundings when she used her mutant abilities.

"Stop worryin', will ye." Theresa answered her.

"But, I thought the Professor said he didn't want the rest of us coming down here." Amara recalled, as they walked down the corridor.

"The Professor said he didn't want too many people coming down here before, because he thought all of the unfamiliar faces might make Rahne even more agitated." Theresa replied, in a slightly hoarse voice. She had mostly recovered from overstressing her vocal chords when using her mutant power while on Muir Island, but her recovery was not yet complete.

"If that's the case, then why are we down here now?" Amara further questioned.

"Because with Kitty in Washington, and everyone else off onna mission, I'm the only familiar face left here. So, I figure it's time Rahne got herself familiar with some new faces. Plus, if Dani can do what she says, we might be able t'actually get through to her." Theresa explained.

"I didn't say I could do it, I just said I'd try." Danielle Moonstar, the young Native American teen also referred to as Mirage told Theresa, as she walked along with the other two girls, "I'm just starting to get the hang of controlling the mental images that my mind powers project in and out of other people. This new ability to talk to animals didn't even start until a few months ago."

"Ye know what they say, practice makes perfect." Theresa pointed out.

"But, I've only used that part of my powers to talk to a few of the forest animals around the school, I've never tried it out on a human girl that can shapeshift herself into an animal. I don't even know if it'll work." Dani replied.

"Well, there's only one way t'find out. Besides, if ye don't get her attention, we can always turn 'Volcano-girl' here loose. I'm sure Rahne won't be able to ignore her tearin' the place up with those lava powers of hers." Theresa said, as she teased Amara.

"I have a name, and it isn't Volcano-girl." Amara said flatly, as she ran her hand back through her shoulder-length, brownish-blonde hair.

"A thousand pardons m'lady, I meant no disrespect. I forgot my place and who I was speakin' to." Theresa said, as she continued teasing Amara.

"Terry, we mustn't forget that we're in the presence of Amara Aquilla, the daughter of Lucius Antonius Aquilla, Nova Roma's greatest and most revered diplomat." Dani said as she joined in with Theresa, which made Amara's face turn from its lightly tanned tone, to a bright red color.

Even though she was proud of who her father was and loved him very much, Amara always felt slightly uncomfortable when other people would make such a big fuss over her because of him. It was due to the fact that he was one of Nova Roma's most influential Senators, as well as the small nation's foremost Ambassador to the world. All of his work towards putting Nova Roma on the map as one of the globe's major epicenters of commerce, art, and technology, made Senator Aquilla a well-known and important figure on the international political scene.

"You know, just plain Amara will be fine." Amara said, as Theresa and Dani took notice of their friend's current emotional state.

"Ye know, ye definitely need t'learn how to take a joke." Theresa said, as the red-head put her arm around Amara, just as they reached the detention cell area.

"I can take a joke just fine, all you have to do is find something funny to say." Amara smiled, as her blue eyes looked into Theresa's green ones, her moment of uneasiness now passing.

Inside, Rahne was currently the only occupant in the detention area. In her current lupine state, Rahne's animal instincts had taken complete control, while her conscious mind retreated within. It necessitated her being held in one of the cells, ensuring that she wouldn't be able to injure anyone in her full wolf-form. Standing outside of the entrance to the detention area, Theresa pushed the access button that immediately slid the large steel door to the side, allowing the three girls to go inside. There they saw a not quite, fully-grown brown wolf sitting on the cold metal floor in one of the cells, which had an energy force field across the front of it.

"Rahne, it's me Terry. We came to see how ye we're doin'." Theresa said, as she approached the front of the cell. But, as had been the case when either her, Professor Xavier, Ororo, Kitty, Peter and even a couple of times Rogue had come to talk to her, Rahne just looked up at her visitor and then laid her head back down on the floor, as though she didn't hear them.

"Maybe she doesn't understand you, you know, when she's turned into an animal?" Amara guessed.

"I think she does. She's still shutting us out, like she's been doing ever since we found her after she first took off on Muir Island." Theresa replied, referring to how Rahne had run off that same night the Sentinels attacked, after she found out that her adoptive mother Moira MacTaggert had been kidnapped.

That following morning, Theresa, Kitty, and Peter had searched most of the island for Rahne, and eventually found her hiding in a cave. She had converted herself completely into animal form, both in mind and in body. Rahne, who was normally the kindest and most polite person anyone could ever hope to meet, had buried her conscious mind so deeply within that she didn't even recognize her friends anymore, and attacked them simply from instinct. Peter ended up wrestling with Rahne, until he was able to subdue her and carry her back to the island's research complex. From that point on, Rahne was unresponsive to anyone that tried to reach out to her. Without the use of his telepathic powers, Professor Xavier tried but was unable to reach into Rahne's mind, and coax her out of the apparent state of shock that she was in.

"Okay, let me try." Dani said, as she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts, slowly projecting them outward. Dani could immediately feel an animal presence nearby, and assuming that it was Rahne, spoke to her telepathically.

"Rahne, can you hear me? My name is Danielle Moonstar, and I'm one of the students here at Professor Xavier's school. If you can understand me, uh, just wag your tail." Dani said, as she used her powers to reach into Rahne's mind. Immediately, Dani was hit with a sense of great sadness emanating from the young wolf-girl's psyche inside of the cell.

"_I can hear ye just fine, which is why I'm askin' ye t'just please let me be_."

"But, everyone is so concerned about you, because you won't change back into your human form. They just want to make sure you're okay." Dani mentally revealed to Wolfsbane.

"Well, I'm not okay and I don't know if I will be. Spending the rest of mah life as a wolf is what I deserve as punishment. I'm the one that those monsters were looking for on Muir. Tis just like Reverend Craig said, mah powers are evil and Miss Moira was taken away because she showed kindness to a wicked creature like me." Wolfsbane mentally replied.

Dani then turned back behind her, to face Amara and Theresa.

"Rahne thinks it's her fault that those Sentinels attacked Muir Island. She thinks that her powers are evil, and that's why they showed up there." Dani told them.

"That's crazy talk Rahne. The Professor and Storm both said that there was something else going on, which is why they attacked us." Theresa walked over and told Rahne, "The only thing that's evil are the Sentinels themselves."

"Well, then maybe I don't want to be part of a world where someone can build things like that." Rahne said, as she finally shifted herself back into human form, so that she could verbally communicate with Theresa, "Miss Moira was, Lord forgive me, the only person that ever gave a damn about me, and someone took it upon themselves to just take her away. I grew up without mah real Mother, and I can'nae stand losing the only other one I do know. That's why I thought that spending the rest of mah days as the wolf that I was meant t'be, was a better alternative."

As she sat and poured her heart out to Theresa, Dani, and Amara, Rahne's conversion back into human form had left her naked inside of the cell. She sat up against one of the walls inside, and curled herself up into a tight ball on the floor. She was now crying her eyes out, as she was forced to confront the feelings that she had been able to suppress while in her animal form.

Amara quickly left the detention area, to go to the locker room area and find some clothes for Rahne to put on. Meanwhile Theresa, who had been shown how to adjust the cell's force-field to bring Wolfsbane her meals, turned off the energy field completely and walked inside. She put her arms around the young Scottish girl in an attempt to help console her.

"It's gonna be alright Rahne, I know what it's like to lose a mother. I was just a baby when my Mum died too." Theresa said as she hugged Rahne tightly, who was still crying heavily, "But the X-Men are gonna find Dr. MacTaggert, and they're gonna kick those Sentinels' rears for bein' stupid enough to go messin' with us."

"Do you really think they can do it, I mean find Miss Moira and beat those things?" Rahne asked as she lifted her tear-stained face up, her short red hair looking slightly disheveled from her meta-morphic conversion.

"If anyone can do it, it would be them." Dani added, as she entered the cell to join Rahne and Theresa. She sat down on the bed inside, which hadn't seen any use from its guest. Soon, Amara returned with a sweatshirt and sweatpants for Rahne to put on, which had the school's insignia printed on them, and then the three girls were eventually able to convince Rahne to come upstairs with them.

--------------------------

While Rahne woke up in a cell to find herself in the presence of friends, the same could not be said about another individual who had also found herself in confinement. Her sterile, metal cell was at first glance similar to Rahne's, but a major difference was that she was currently in a secret government installation, buried deep underground somewhere inside of the continental United States.

"Good afternoon, Dr. MacTaggert." A voice said, as the dimmed lights in the cell flashed to their full fluorescent luminance.

"Dr. Stephen Lang, to what honor do I owe yuir presence?" Dr. Moira MacTaggert replied scornfully as she sat up on her bed, dressed in a dark blue prison jumpsuit.

As she put her glasses on and pushed her medium length, reddish-brown hair to the side of her face, she saw a blond-haired man before her. He was dressed in a white lab coat and additional research regalia, and judging by his appearance, he looked to be in his mid to late thirties.

"It's the same reason that I've been visiting you every day, to see if you've had a change of heart in regards to your refusal to assist me." Lang answered.

"Ye're joking, aren't ye? Ye're holdin' me here against my will and expect mah help. Ye have no right t'keep me locked up in here, and ye had no right turnin' yuir Sentinels loose on Muir Island!" Moira angrily shouted at him.

"Legally, I have every right to detain you here. The fact of the matter is that I believe that you have information vital to U.S. national security interests." Lang quickly told her.

"I'm not even a citizen of yuir bloody country! Ye broke a whole host of international laws by simply bringing me here." Moira retorted.

"You are a person of interest, and detaining you is well within the scope of recently passed laws here. And, given that identified members of the band of mutant outlaws known as the X-Men were at your research facility, it only serves to further solidify my position." Lang said to her.

Dr. Stephen Lang then walked into the cell, taking a seat on a chair within as the door closed behind him.

"As far as sending Sentinels to your island, I believe that precaution had prior justification as well." Lang continued, "Muir Island is, after all, the place where Mutant X began his rampage more than half a decade ago. You remember him, the individual that you harbored there until he escaped and attempted to destroy your beloved Scotland. If I also remember correctly, I believe his little 'episode' is what lead to the creation of Project Wideawake here in the United States, and led to initial talks regarding the Mutant Registration Act. I'd say that my actions were prudent, to say the least."

"You bastard! My son Kevin's been dead for years now, how dare ye use him as an excuse for what ye're doin'." Moira said angrily, as she was determined to hold back the tears that the very mention of her son Kevin MacTaggert, the mutant also known as Mutant X and Proteus, stirred up in her.

"Your 'son' pointed out a critical weakness in our nation's defenses. He proved that a single, super-powerful mutant could take over an entire country if he wanted to. The powers that be at the top levels of this nation's government, knew that would most certainly be the case if something wasn't done, and done soon, to prevent it." Lang smiled, as he replied in a smooth, calm voice that showed Moira's outburst had no effect on him at all, "He also proved that mutants existed beyond any shadow of a doubt. You've spent years at your precious research facility content with simply studying these creatures, when what you should have been doing was searching for a cure for their condition, and for some way to eliminate the threat that they pose. That is why I've brought you here, to help me find a solution to this mutant problem."

"That's just what I've been tryin' t'get through that thick skull of yuirs ever since ye brought me here. There is no cure for being a mutant, it's not like a disease that can be treated. Being a mutant is an essential part of their genetic structure. It'd be the same as me saying that I was going to cure someone from having blonde hair or black skin, it just doesn't work that way, and ye're beyond insane to continue thinking otherwise." Moira tried to explain.

"I'm not insane, but I think we both know that you're lying." Lang replied calmly, "It's already a fact that mutant powers can be suppressed through the use of neural inhibitors. What I'm searching for is a method of permanently neutralizing those powers, in essence, turning them off for good. And, I believe that is the reason why you deleted your files on Muir Island, before my Sentinels could retrieve them."

Although Moira had in reality uploaded her lifetime's worth of work to the safety of the computer system at Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted, it was knowledge that she had no intention of giving to Dr. Lang.

"Even if that were true, I'd never help a maniac like you." Moira steadfastly said to him.

"Very well, if you won't help me to rid the world of the mutant problem in a more humane manner, then you can watch as the Sentinels take care of them, knowing that you had the opportunity to prevent the mutant blood that must now be shed in order to guarantee humanity's survival." Lang said sternly, as he stood up and proceeded to leave the cell.

"**Ye can't, that's…that's genocide**!" Moira yelled, as she sprang up from her bed.

"Call it what you will." Lang said in a monotone voice, as he continued on while Moira's cell door closed behind him.

"Lord, what have I just done?" Moira said silently to herself, as she realized that Stephen Lang was dead serious about his intentions. As the lights in her cell went back to their dimmed setting once again, Moira closed her eyes and sat back down on her prison bed, praying that she hadn't just unintentionally helped to sign a death warrant against an entire segment of the population.

----------------------

Stephen Lang made his way from the facility's detention center, traveling through the huge underground military-looking complex. Soon, he was at the facility's manufacturing plant, where the crowning achievement of his work was about to be realized.

"How is everything progressing?" Lang asked his assistant, as he walked into the computer control-center above the processing plant.

"You're just in time to witness the Prime Sentinel being brought online." The assistant replied, as she monitored the terminal in front of her.

"Dr. Lang…" Another assistant said, as he walked into the room.

"What is it?" Lang asked him.

"I've been keeping constant tabs on the situation regarding the Sentinel operation we initiated on Muir Island. The British are now asking the United Nations to begin a formal investigation into where the Sentinels originated from." The assistant told him.

"I wouldn't be too concerned. Even to the highest echelons of our government, Project Wideawake is merely a research program designed to gain a better understanding of the mutant phenomenon, of super-powered beings in general, and of other supernatural affairs. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. has seen fit to send us the creatures that their top scientists have no idea what to do with, which is where many of those unusual looking animals in the holding pens on the level below the processing plant came from." Lang replied.

"We're about to activate the Prime Sentinel now, sir." The first assistant said to Dr. Lang.

The three individuals then stood and looked through a window below them, as most of the power in the complex was temporarily diverted to the processing center. All of the lights in the facility flickered off and on for about thirty seconds, before returning to normal. Dr. Lang and his assistants proceeded to make their way from the control booth down to the ground level, so that they could have a first-hand look at their latest accomplishment. As they walked past more than two hundred Sentinels silently standing guard around the Prime Sentinel, they soon found themselves in front of the gigantic cybernetic construct that was as big as four Sentinel units combined.

"Prime Sentinel, respond to me. Repeat what your Prime Directive is." Lang said, as he spoke to the giant Sentinel that was sitting in a very large chair in front of him, which had been constructed from both the remains of Bolivar Trask's original Mastermold, as well as from new parts.

"Unit designate: Prime Sentinel, also designated as Mastermold, retrieving data. Prime Directive one: The elimination of any and all mutant lifeforms." The giant Mastermold unit replied.

"Very good." Lang said, as he turned to his two top assistants, "Our Sentinel processing unit is now fully functional and independently operational. The additional time that we spent to complete its vast central processing core will prove to be well worth the extra effort."

But unknown to Dr. Stephen Lang, as he thought that he finally had the capability to wipe every vestige of mutantkind from the face of the planet, Mastermold was using its nearly limitless artificially-intelligent brain to devise the most effective means of eliminating those mutants. The conclusion that Mastermold would logically come to would most certainly shock Dr. Lang, and the numerous individuals and groups that had secretly invested private dollars into Project Wideawake to help make sure that the Sentinels became a reality.

Now, the Super-Sentinel was busy plotting its own agenda, regarding how it would ultimately fulfill its Prime Directive…

------------------------------

Next Chapter: Professor Xavier, Kitty, and Bobby run into a 'friend' of an old friend in Washington D.C., while Scott and Logan have an unexpected bonding moment back home. Plus, Remy and Rogue go out on their first date…

------------------------------

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter.

**TheDreamerLady**- Nah, Storm and Warren were a couple during their early X-Men days. But, as you'll see in this next chapter, there may be something new starting to brew on the horizon for Storm and Forge. As far as the minors thing, I'd say Emma took a page from Xavier's book as far as recruiting mutants when they're still pretty young. Rogue doesn't have any additional powers, like from Ms. Marvel. Well, at least not yet anyways. As far as Northstar, I haven't decided yet. I do have something in mind if I do eventually include him, which would most likely involve the original Alpha Flight as well. Take care Amanda, you and Lanco.

**EmeraldKatsEye**- Glad I got you hooked on Kiotr. Yeah, when I read Astonishing X-Men #4 for the first time, my jaw nearly dropped when I saw Colossus at the end, and I was pretty moved too. Now, I can hardly wait each month for the next issue.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you liked the whole junior X-men United theme from the last chapter. Also glad that you liked Rogue confident and with a stronger personality, I'd say Logan's influence is definitely rubbing off on her. But then again, with role models like Storm around to show an example of what a strong female is, I don't think Rogue and the other girls can go wrong.

**Episodic**- I love the regular uniforms too, so I tried to find a way of varying the movie-verse versions, while still staying true to them. Yeah, there were Hellions, Acolytes, and a couple that don't fit into either category. Hopefully, we'll see a wider variety of characters whenever X3 comes out. And here's the next chapter, so hopefully I can get a break from all of the shoulder poking.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Yeah, it hadn't really occurred to me to alter the X-Men's black leather uniforms until I read that in your story, so I wanted to at least give credit where it was due. Glad you liked Storm and Warren's conversation and the 'new' X-Men too.

**Jean1**- Glad you liked Storm and Warren, and the junior team graduating. With Rogue, I thought her being team leader would be something new and different to explore. Since she doesn't have the baggage of having to deal with Mystique as her adoptive mother, nor the whole Carol Danver situation, at least not yet, I thought it'd be an interesting aspect to her. I basically got the idea from the way Rogue acted in X2, by wanting to go back for Logan when Bobby and John just wanted to get away from Stryker's men (Not that I can blame them in the least), and from a deleted scene on the DVD where Rogue helps two of the younger kids to leave the mansion through an escape hatch, and instructs them on what and what not to do. It just really struck me that she'd be so concerned for other's welfare, while most everyone else was making a break for it. Her actions, along with Colossus wanting to help Logan take down the soldiers, left an impression on me in regards to how they would function in a combat situation, if they were ever on the active roster. As far as Bobby goes, I don't think he's having too much of a problem with Rogue being in charge. If anything, he's probably regretting not being more supportive of her in that capacity over the last few months. Anyways, I hope you like what I have in store next.

**Independent Fire**- Glad you liked the last two chapters, I think the Brotherhood angle and the Storm/Warren revelation were pretty interesting twists. And read on, you don't have much longer to wait in regards to Wolfsbane.

**Jeremy Harper**- Wow, thanks for the reviews of each chapter and for the constructive criticism. It really does help when someone tells you if something's not quite right, and how it can be improved. I know what you mean about getting behind, there are a few fan-fic stories out there that I'm behind on reading, including yours, but I hope to get caught back up now that I'm finished with this chapter.

Glad you liked the characterizations, I'm always trying to make sure that, while I'm putting established characters in new situations, they still maintain ties to their original depictions. Jubilee's probably the easiest character for me to write, because you know it's going to be a wise-crack a minute with her. With the Kitty/Peter scene in Ch.1, I had been looking forward to that one since Force pt. I, mainly for the reasons that you outlined. I do also intend on tying in this movie-verse story to other characters in the Marvel Universe, even ones that may not have a movie in the works.

Without going over everything else that you pointed out, I can say that you're pretty dead-on with most of your observations. And as a small spoiler, as far as her best-friend, it's one of those, two but it ain't Doug. Thanks again for the insightful reviews, and I'll be letting you know what I think about the latest chapter of Deathless very soon.


	6. Well, It Had to Happen Sooner or Later

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.

--------------------------------------------

Chapter 6- Well, It Had to Happen Sooner or Later

While the weather outside on this cloudy and overcast day did not portend any chance of rain, a tempest of another kind was already brewing within the halls of the United States Congress. The day following their arrival into Washington D.C. found Professor Charles Xavier, Katherine Pryde and Robert Drake currently making their way into the U.S. Capitol building. His students were definitely dressed for their destination, as they wore their nicest outfits to make a good first impression on anyone that they might run into that knew the Professor.

"Looks like we're going to be standing in line for awhile." Bobby said, as he, the Professor, and Kitty had just entered the Capitol building, and now waited in a rather long line to proceed through a security checkpoint within.

"It's not like you should be surprised. We had to wait in line to go through them a bunch of times already, when we were sight-seeing around the city yesterday." Kitty replied, "Besides it could be worse, we could be with Logan. From what Rogue told me when they were traveling, trying to explain to security why every square inch of his body sets off their metal detectors is an adventure all on its own."

"It appears that we shouldn't be very much longer." Professor Xavier stated, as the line slowly continued to move forward.

A short time later, as the trio finally went through the checkpoint, one of the guards pulled the small group to the side.

"We need to inspect your wheelchair again, it'll be just one moment." One of the guards said to Professor Xavier, after his chair had set off one of the metal detectors.

"This is the first time anyone's had to make a big deal about his wheelchair, and we've been all over Washington." Kitty said to the guard, with more than a fair amount of annoyance in her voice.

"Young lady, in this day and age we can't afford to take any chances." Another guard at the checkpoint solemnly said to her.

"It's quite alright Kitty, these men are just doing their jobs. Let's not make it any more difficult for them." Professor Xavier said to her, as one of the guards went to help him into a metal folding chair while they examined his wheelchair. But, it became quickly apparent that the guard's assistance wouldn't be necessary.

"I've got it." Bobby protectively said to the security guard, as he quickly went over to help the Professor up and over into the side-chair, "Here you go, Professor."

"Thank you, Bobby." Professor Xavier said, as Bobby carefully helped his mentor into the temporary seat.

"Anytime, Sir." Bobby smiled as he looked at the Professor, while the guards thoroughly looked the wheelchair over, and then scanned the trio with hand-held metal detectors.

Once the guards were satisfied that everything was in order, Bobby, Kitty and the Professor took an elevator up to the second floor of the Capitol building. They made their way down to one of the Senate auxiliary chambers, where a debate regarding mutants and possible national security measures was being held. When he had learned about the hearing, Professor Xavier had called and asked to be allowed to speak before the committee, hoping to make sure that the Senators kept in mind that not all mutants had designs towards global domination.

"Professor Xavier, we're running slightly behind schedule." An aide in charge of greeting the speakers said from behind a small desk, located outside of the door to the conference room, "It'll be a little while before it's your turn."

Professor Xavier then turned to look at Kitty and Bobby.

"Since we are here, perhaps you would enjoy a first hand look at how the government of this fine nation functions?" Professor Xavier suggested.

"Sure, it'll beat trying to entertain ourselves in the waiting room." Kitty answered, as the three of them started back down the corridor to the elevator that would take them up to the third floor of the Capitol building.

------------------------------

On the third floor, the trio was surprised when they unexpectedly ran into one particular individual there. But, given that they were now in the halls of the upper-house of Congress, it was a meeting that they should have been anticipating.

"Professor Xavier, what a pleasant surprise." Senator Robert Kelly said, as he was coming down the corridor from his office at the other end. He stopped to chat for a moment with the group, in the immense hallway outside of the observation area above the Senate floor, "And, these must be your students. I must say, they are two excellent examples of today's youth."

"I certainly seem to think so." Professor Xavier replied in an unusually serious voice, even for him. It had nothing at all to do with his feelings about his students, and everything to do with the individual he was talking to.

"You know what they say, the children are our future." Senator Kelly stated, as he started to continue on to his destination, "I wish that we could continue our discussion, but duty calls. I will, however, give your best regards to our mutual friend."

After Senator Kelly had left to go take his place down below on the floor of the Senate, Kitty, Bobby and the Professor went to the observation area to watch from above.

"I'd love to knock that smug look off of her face." Bobby said, as he unbuttoned the jacket of his light gray suit, "I don't understand why we don't just expose what Mystique is doing?"

As they talked, Bobby, Kitty, and the Professor were the only ones in their section of the observation area.

"With tensions between mutants and normal humans at an already heightened and agitated state, I fear that such a disclosure would be catastrophic." Professor Xavier replied, as he referred to a similar discussion that he, Scott, Ororo, and Jean had regarding Mystique's impersonation, not too long after they first saw what she was doing following the incident at Liberty Island.

"Well, it still sucks." Kitty commented.

"Indeed, it does." Professor Xavier agreed.

Meanwhile on the floor of the Senate, its elected officials were busily debating where funding from the next year's budget should be allocated in regards to military spending and strengthening the nation's overall defensive capabilities. But, as seemed to be the case so often recently, the debate soon swung over to the mutant question and how best to protect the general populace from super-powered beings who wanted to go to war with humanity.

"If we had passed the Registration Act that was defeated in this very Senate last year, we wouldn't need to discuss new options to protect us from mutants hell-bent on destroying the democratic principles that this country was founded on." Senator Kenwood said, as he addressed his fellow Senators, "There is no greater threat or concern to this nation's security than the powers that many of these individuals are able to wield, and we owe it to the good voters back home that elected us to ensure that their interests, that their very lives, are being protected by their government."

Once Senator Kenwood's time at the podium had expired, Senator Kelly was the next to address the Senate.

"Today's agenda was set to discuss military spending, but it appears that the inevitable 'What do we do about the mutants?' issue has once again been brought up." Senator Kelly started, "I was once the most avid supporter of passing the Mutant Registration Act, until my eyes were opened. I came to realize that I don't just represent one specific group of people back home, but constituents of every background, including those that may be mutants. If they believe that their own government is taking measures that threatens their freedom, such as building Sentinels as part of a national defense force that another colleague of mine previously suggested, then even those mutants that merely desire peace with humans, will be forced to side with pro-mutant forces that intend to protect their own from such tyranny."

"Then, the question needs to be asked, what other measures should we take? Perhaps these mutants should be screened before they're allowed to register to vote, or we may end up with some mutant terrorist elected into public office?" Senator Carwell said, as he had taken the floor following Senator Kelly.

"On top of being illegal, that has to be the most obscene thing that I have heard in many years on this Hill." Senator Thomas stated, as the older Senator took the podium next, "The very notion of attempting to obstruct the right of a citizen in these United States to cast their vote in the electoral process goes against the very principles that this republic was founded on. Although, we have a history of not always living up to those ideals, we've made strides in recent decades to correct those inequities, and we should continue to move forward in that regard, not backwards."

As the Senators continued to argue their various viewpoints on the floor of the immense chamber, up above, those who had been observing the proceedings vocalized their opinion of what they were witnessing.

"Now they're debating whether we should have the right to vote. What next, whether we should be allowed to breathe the same air as everyone else?" Kitty sharply commented, as she removed her glasses and stood with her arms folded across the front of her white long-sleeved blouse, looking down at the Senators below.

"No kidding. It sure makes you proud to be an American." Bobby commented, as he sat in a seat nearby.

"In spite of what some individuals may think, we mustn't lose hope in the belief that it is possible for a mutual understanding to be reached between mutants and humans, which will allow us to co-exist together peacefully." Professor Xavier said to both of his students.

"I know, but it keeps getting harder and harder to believe that's ever going to happen, Sir." Bobby responded.

"The way some of those Senators are talking, they're not going to be happy until they pass that Registration law, and lock all of us 'dangerous' mutants up. It's the same kind of talk that my Grandpa said went on before World War II, before they rounded everyone up and put them into those camps." Kitty revealed, "All I know is that I'll die first, before I let them do that to me."

With those words, Professor Xavier couldn't help but think back to a conversation that he and an old friend had, regarding those very same atrocities from the past. Erik Lensherr had once told Charles, many years ago and in graphic detail, about the horror that he bore witness to first-hand.

He also said, in no uncertain terms, that he would never allow anything like that to happen to mutant-kind, as long as there was still breath in his body…

----------------------------------

Back at the school located in Westchester County, one of the more recent additions to its ranks was currently getting better acclimated to her new surroundings. Although Rahne Sinclair had been in the state of New York for the better part of a week, today was the first day that she was fully conscious of that fact. Currently, she was standing silently and patiently outside of the school's rather extensive library, early in the afternoon.

"It is still fascinating to hear that the native population of this vast country may have first settled it, by migrating across a land area that is as small as the one that once linked Russia with the United States at the Bering Strait." Peter Rasputin said, as the door to the library opened, "And to think that they went across my homeland of Siberia to do so."

"That they would eventually make their way into what is present-day South America, without the aid of modern modes of transportation, makes the feat sound all the more incredible." Kurt Wagner replied, as he had been giving a tutorial session in the library, following his morning classes.

"You couldn't get me to walk that far, even if it involved checkin' out the latest mall opening." Jubilation Lee stated, as she followed behind her fellow classmate and her tutor.

As soon as the three individuals entered the hallway outside of the library, which was located on the ground floor of the mansion, they immediately saw the young red-head standing and leaning against the wall out there.

"Rahne, is everything okay?" Peter immediately asked her, as he had been informed of her awakening following his return from the X-Men's mission the day before.

"So, you're Rahne." Jubilee said, as this was the first time that she had met Rahne, "My name's Jubilee, and the guy next to me is the school's history buff, 'Mr. Jeopardy', I mean, Mr. Wagner."

As Jubilee put her hand out to shake Rahne's and greet her, Rahne was somewhat startled by Kurt's appearance.

"Och, tis the devil himself." Rahne silently thought to herself, as the description that Reverend Craig had drilled into her mind from an early age, seemed to have now manifested itself right before her very eyes.

"_Guten Tag, Liebchen_." Kurt greeted her, "That means good afternoon."

"Uh, Hello." Rahne managed to nervously get out in response.

"We were just on our way to the cafeteria, why don't you come with?" Jubilee offered Rahne.

"Maybe in a bit, but I need t'talk to Peter first." Rahne responded.

"We will be along shortly." Peter said, as he motioned for Kurt and Jubilee to continue on without him.

"Okay, just don't make me have to report you to Kitty or anything." Jubilee sarcastically said to Peter.

"Jubilee!" Peter quickly retorted to her insinuation.

"Oh, don't spaz out, I'm just kiddin'. Besides Tin-Man, I so owe you for that crack about how I only use my books for a pillow." Jubilee said, as she referred to Peter's comment from the previous week.

After Jubilee and Kurt soon disappeared around the corner at the end of the hallway, Peter and Rahne were left alone in the corridor.

"You said that you needed to talk to me?" Peter looked down, as he asked Rahne.

"Yes, well I just wanted t'say that I'm sorry for what happened on Muir Island. Terry told me about how I attacked ye." Rahne started, as she looked down at the floor and fidgeted a little, "I din'na know what came over me. Well, actually I do, but I'm still sorry for it. I just hope that ye can find it in yuir heart to forgive me someday."

With Rahne's sincere apology made, Peter looked down at her with a very serious look on his face, before he spoke.

"There is no need for apologies, little one. If anything, you helped to show me that I had not forgotten skills taught to me as a young boy by my older brother, back home in Siberia. Perhaps, one day you would like to have a rematch with me in the school's Danger Room." Peter said to her, with a huge smile on his face.

"I'm not sure about that. But, ye're sure ye're not mad at me?" Rahne asked him.

"Positive." Peter replied, "Come, let's go join Kurt and Jubilee."

With that, Peter motioned for Rahne to walk down the hallway to the school's dining hall with him. But, before Peter could take one step, Rahne quickly ran up and put her arms around his waist. She gave Peter a brief hug to show her gratitude at his understanding of her momentary loss of control, and then gleefully took off down the corridor ahead of him. All Peter could do was marvel, as he walked behind Rahne, at how naturally kind and caring she was, despite having to deal with so many heartaches in her life.

-----------------------------------------------

In a different part of the mansion, another new addition to the school, who had already become familiar with his surroundings, was now getting better acquainted with some of its other younger residents.

"Say little man, stop here and let's see what dis is about." Remy Lebeau said, as he was seated on a sofa in front of the big screen T.V. in the mansion's main rec-room.

"It's the historical channel. This is a documentary about the 100 Years War." Jones Davidson replied, as he sat next to Remy. He had been using his mutant power that allowed him to affect and control electrical and electronic devices, a power which had earned him the codename Circuit, to change the channels on the television by simply blinking his eyes.

"I don't know, sounds like it's 'bout a hundred years more time than we got." Remy remarked, "What's everybody else's vote?"

"You can keep going, maybe there's a decent action-movie on somewhere." James Proudstar, the young man codenamed Warpath said, as he was the first to reply from another sofa in the rec-room.

"Check the sports channel, Soccer might be on. I'd like to at least know if Brazil won their World Cup qualifying match?" Roberto DaCosta, the young mutant known as Sunspot for the solar-charged abilities that he possessed wondered, as he sat next to James.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask Jones to put it on the Rerun channel, so you could watch that old T.V. show that you're obsessed with." Jaime Madrox, the self-replicating Multiple Kid remarked, from a chair opposite of James and Roberto.

"Liking and obsessing are two different things. I like Magnum P.I., but I'm not obsessed with it." Roberto told him, "The guy just seems pretty cool, and it's one of the few shows from way back in the '80's that I can get into."

"So, we got a vote for an action flick, soccer, and classic programmin'. Looks like you gonna have to settle t'ings wit' those blinkin' T.V. control powers of yours." Remy said aloud, as he then looked over at Jones.

"Actually, my powers control more than the T.V., I can affect just about anything electronic. But so far, I'm only good with simpler machines." Jones explained.

"Well then, what other t'ings can you do, _Mon Ami_?" Remy asked him.

"I can start a car from about 100 feet." Jones revealed, as he looked over at Remy, "And I don't have to blink to do it."

"Now I know de man t'come to when I lose my car keys." Remy jokingly replied, as Jones proceeded to change the channel, now by snapping his fingers.

As the T.V flipped from one station to the next, a new entrant to the room quickly made the currently all-male environment, **much** more co-ed.

"Y'all look pretty cozy sitting in here." Rogue said, as she stood in the area where the hallway met the foyer.

"Just watchin' a little T.V. wit' de fellas is all." Remy replied, as he looked over at her from the sofa.

"Well, don't let me interrupt. Ah just came to ask you what time we're leavin' tonight?" Rogue queried Remy, as she pushed the sleeves on her lightweight sweater up.

"Huh?" Remy said in response.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten about the date you asked me out on already. Ah figured since Cyclops gave us the rest of the day off, and it is a Friday night, that we could go check out an art and historical museum that's not too far from here in Westchester. That is, unless you're not interested anymore?" Rogue reminded him, with a slight smirk.

"'Course I'm still interested, _Chere_. How's seven sound?" Remy suggested.

"Sounds perfect!" Rogue exclaimed, as she turned to head upstairs to start getting ready, all the while trying to hide the tremendous amount of excitement that she was currently feeling.

After Rogue was well upstairs and out of listening range, Jaime decided to point out something to Remy.

"You know you can't kiss her, or you'll end up in a coma?" Jaime stated.

"Yeah, Gambit know all 'bout dat." Remy replied, as he now looked with the rest of the group at a movie on basic cable.

"Then it sounds like it'll be a pretty boring date." Jaime continued with his observation.

"I doubt it. A beautiful evenin' wit' a beautiful girl, I t'ink I'll be plenty occupied." Remy remarked.

"There's more to dating than trying to cop a cheap feel from a girl without her slapping you, Jaime." Roberto said to his classmate.

"Now don't you boys get me wrong, the touch of a beautiful woman can be well worth de risk sometimes." Remy said with a grin.

"Yeah, but it's like I said, you can't actually touch her." Jaime reiterated.

"_Homme_, there're ways around everyt'ing. All it takes is a little imagination." Remy said to his young friend.

Jaime looked at Remy for a moment before he responded, confused about what the more experienced New Orleans native was talking about.

"What do you mean?"

With that, Remy let out a small laugh, as he stood up so he himself could go and start getting ready for his date.

"When you're old enough t'get into a PG-13 movie without an adult accompanyin' you little man, then Gambit'll explain everyt'ing." Remy told his young friend, as he left the room to go upstairs.

As Remy departed, the three remaining boys busted out laughing at Jaime, none louder than Roberto.

"Looks like Multiple Kid just got Multiple shut-down!" Roberto told him, as he still laughed loudly.

"Now I know who I'm going to go to for advice when it comes to girls." James commented.

"We also know who not to go to." Jones added, "With Jaime, all he'll have to keep you company with is his dupes."

"Geez guys, stop raggin' on me already." Jaime said to the rest of the group, as they eventually stopped their ribbing, turning their attention back to what was on the television.

----------------------------------

While Rogue and Gambit went to prepare for a relaxing night out, Scott Summers on the other hand was hard at work in the War Room below the mansion. It was a fact that did not escape the notice of one Ororo Munroe, as she now entered the War Room herself.

"I came to check on you, you've been down here by yourself for most of the day, Scott." Ororo pointed out, as she walked over and stood next to Scott, who was looking up at the large monitor in the War Room. On it, he had several different images cued up and was intensely studying each one.

"After the search of Bolivar Trask's old base didn't turn up much in useful information, we're back to square one. I'm just trying to figure out what our next move will be." Scott said, as he punched the buttons on a remote keypad in his hand and enlarged one of the images on the screen, "I came across a vague claim on the Internet that says there was a Sentinel sighting about a year ago at this place, a beach-front area named Thunder Shore. But, there are no other details mentioned about it, and no one else seems to be able to corroborate or even confirm seeing it."

Scott then used the handheld control to enlarge another one of the various images on the monitor screen.

"This is an archive from air traffic control records over the general vicinity of Muir Island, Scotland on the night that it was attacked. Despite the size of the Sentinels, radar picked up absolutely nothing, which confirms what Forge told us about their cloaking abilities. Luckily, he's at least figured out their secret, and has given the Blackbird its own ability to hide itself from the Sentinels."

Then, Scott hit a button on the remote keypad, and brought up another series of images on the monitor.

"Before you walked in, I was just about to go through these satellite images from that night, to see if they picked up anything that--" Scott started to say, when Ororo interrupted him.

"Scott, you're pushing yourself to hard. No one expects you to solve everything on your own." Ororo said, as she sat down in a chair in the War Room.

"Well, I can't just sit around and not do anything. Every minute that we don't find the Sentinels, is another minute that Moira is in their clutches, having God knows what done to her, by God knows who." Scott replied, as he went and sat against the edge of one of the tables in there.

"I feel the same way that you do, such a thought is disturbing to say the least." Ororo told him, "When the Professor returns from Washington, we will just have to put our heads together and come up with a new course of action."

"And what if that's too late? You know, this is the very type of threat that we've been training all of these years to fight, the kind of danger that the Professor's been preparing me to lead the team against, and so far I just haven't gotten the job done." Scott said, as he revealed his feelings about letting down the man who had took him in, and helped mold him into the person that he was today.

"Scott, it's like you said, we are a team. Win, lose, or draw, we will do it, together." Ororo told him, as she walked over and put her hand on his shoulder, "And as your teammate, I think the most important thing that you could do right now is just get away from this for a little while. I can go through the data currently at hand."

"I guess a small break couldn't hurt, it might help me discover something that I may have overlooked before." Scott said, as he decided to heed Ororo's advice, "I'm going to go upstairs for some coffee, do you want me to bring you some back?"

"No, but perhaps later." Ororo replied, as she started to study the photos on the large screen, while Scott left the War Room and headed outside into the sub-level corridor.

--------------------------------

After the elevator had brought Scott up to the ground level of the mansion, he proceeded to make his way towards the kitchen. As he did, he realized that it was now well into the evening hours. Passing by the main rec-room, he looked in to see that Alison Blaire was sitting on the sofa alone, and was carefully taking notes from various large and small books that were sprawled across the coffee table in front of her.

"You look like you're pretty busy." Scott commented, as he walked up behind the sofa where Alison was seated, with her legs tucked underneath her.

"Oh, hey you." Alison replied, as she had been so engrossed by what she was reading that she hadn't noticed Scott's entry. She looked up from the book currently in her hands, and turned around to peer into eyes hidden behind two small windows of Ruby-quartz.

"So, are you cramming for some major exam?" Scott jokingly asked, which was a change of pace, since jokes were something rarely heard from him.

"I wish, that'd be way less stressful." Alison responded, "I'm just trying to get ready for this music class that Hank suggested I teach. When the Professor called yesterday from D.C., Hank ran the idea by him. The Professor gave his approval and said that he wished that he had thought of it sooner, which you know went straight to Hank's head. He was excited at the idea that, for once, he was one step ahead of the most powerful mind on the planet."

"Well, I think it's a good idea too." Scott told her.

"Yeah, you'll change your mind when I get in front of my class on Monday, and crash and burn." Alison replied, as she was not quite as confident as Scott, Hank and the Professor were of her teaching anyone, anything.

"You'll do fine. The song I heard you playing the other morning showed me, without a doubt, that the person who wrote it knew everything they needed to about music, and how to express their very soul through it." Scott stated unequivocally, which caught Alison slightly off-guard as he complimented her.

"You know, despite the stick-in-the-mud that every claims you are, your little motivational speech isn't half bad." Alison sarcastically said, as she thanked him.

"I do occasionally have my moments." Scott said with a small smile.

"Yeah, you do." Alison happily replied, as she then went back to studying the book on her lap. As she did, something even more noteworthy than Scott's encouraging words now occurred.

When Scott looked down at her on the sofa, Alison appeared as though she was, literally, sparkling in front of him as she read the text in hand. It was much like that morning when he first came across her playing the piano, located in a small study in the mansion. When he saw it, Scott thought the way that the study seemed to glow was just an effect of the sun's rays beaming through the fairly sheer curtains within. But now, he understood that it was actually Alison's mutant powers causing the phenomenon, her ability to channel sound waves and sonic vibrations into light energy. Scott also realized that her powers were most likely influenced to a degree by her emotional state, similarly to how Storm's mood very much affected the weather around her.

"With a little training, Alison shouldn't have any trouble learning how to better control her light effect." Scott silently thought to himself as Alison continued reading, oblivious to the illumination that she was projecting, "But, she does look very beautiful doing it."

Instantly, Scott was startled by his last observation. Alison was the first person that he had even remotely thought about in that manner, since he had lost his first true-love Jean Grey nearly a year before at Alkali Lake. But inside, it still felt wrong to Scott for him to look at any other woman like that. Just then, somebody caught Scott's attention from the corner of his eye, as he passed by over in the foyer area and opened the front door.

"Hey, I'm going to leave you alone so you can work. I'll talk to you a little bit later." Scott said to Alison.

"Okay." Alison replied, as she looked back up at him from the book. Scott then started towards the door, when Alison spoke to him again.

"Scott…"

"Yes?" Scott responded, as he partially turned back towards her.

"Thanks, again." Alison said sincerely.

"Sure." Scott warmly told her, as he now went to grab his lightweight jacket from the large hallway closet, and continue out of the front door.

------------------------------------

Once outside, Scott hurried along to catch up with him, and he finally did halfway between the house and the garage. He had been intending on keeping a promise that he had made, when he and Hank talked following his arrival back at the mansion. It was to be more to the X-Men than their usually uptight leader, to also try to relate to them on a more personal level. But, he unexpectedly became preoccupied with the events related to the attack on Muir Island. Now, Scott figured tonight was the perfect night to keep that pledge.

"Hold up just a minute." Scott called out, as he walked briskly behind.

"What's the matter, Cyke?" Logan asked, as he stopped and turned around, "Some rampagin' big-bad need the X-Men to put their collective foots where the sun don't shine?"

"No, I just wanted to see where you were off to." Scott said, as day was quickly becoming night on the late spring evening, while they stood out on the estate grounds.

"Out." Logan replied simply, "Don't worry, I've got my communicator on me in case something goes down."

"Well, why don't I join you?" Scott suggested, which nearly floored Logan.

"No thanks, my plans didn't include attendin' a P.T.A. meeting." Logan said, as he was about to turn around and start towards the garage.

"Then, how about a beer? On me." Scott offered.

"Never thought I'd ever refuse free brew, but no thanks." Logan once again answered.

"I insist." Scott told him, which caused Logan to turn and take a few steps back towards Scott.

"You ready to back that insistin' up?" Logan said, as he popped his claws from one of his hands.

"Look Logan, I didn't come out here to pick a fight with you." Scott responded.

"Then, why exactly did you come out here, bub?" Logan asked him, as he now retracted his claws.

"I'm just trying to reach out here, which isn't an easy thing for me to do." Scott explained to Logan.

"Well, you can quit strainin' your hemorrhoids." Logan sharply replied, "And you don't have to keep on with this kinder, gentler Cyclops routine. We can continue to play nice for Chuck and the kids' sake, but you ain't gotta pretend when it's just the two of us. You've made your feelings pretty clear."

"I don't think I have, which is part of the problem. Let's go someplace where we can talk and finally clear the air between us." Scott again suggested.

Logan took the cigar he was smoking out of his mouth for a moment, as he stood and considered Scott's request.

"Alright, Boy-Scout. We can go somewhere and get more in touch with our feelings, but I get to pick the place." Logan said, as he put his cigar back into his mouth and the two men then walked to the garage.

A few minutes later, Scott flipped the light switch on in the garage, where most of the vehicles at the school were kept.

"We can take this one." Scott said, as he went over to the driver's side of a black and brown jeep, opening the door to get in. As he did, Scott stopped for a short moment and looked at an empty space close by in the garage.

"I guess you're still sore about your car endin' up on a police impound lot in Boston." Logan said to Scott, with a small grin.

"I'm coping." Scott said sarcastically, as he briefly looked over at Logan. The two of them then got into the jeep and quickly departed.

-----------------------------------

"Jube, have you seen my black boots?" Rogue asked her roommate, as they were both getting ready for their dates this night.

"I'm sure they're with your collection of other black boots." Jubilee remarked, as she stood and examined the gold-colored blouse and black jeans that she was wearing in the mirror.

"No, Ah mean the nice ones with the sharp-toe." Rogue clarified.

"Oh those, they're over here." Jubilee said, as she went over to her side of the room and found the aforementioned boots under her bed, "I borrowed them the last time me and Doug went out, they went so great with that pink and white outfit of mine."

"Ah'm sure you looked lovely." Rogue giggled, as Jubilee tossed each of the boots to her one at a time, "So, how are things going between you two anyways?"

"Great!" Jubilee told Rogue, "He's totally dealin' with the 'My girlfriend is a mutant' thing."

"In that case, he must've really been impressed when you tried to manhandle the Blob all on your own." Rogue said, referring to Jubilee's face-off with the Blob a few weeks ago when she and Doug Ramsey were on a date.

"I don't know if impressed is the word for it." Jubilee replied, "More like silent confusion. He knows I'm a mutant, but he doesn't know about the super-hero stuff we do here. One time, he even asked me about those news reports about the army showin' up here last year. I told him they were just doin' a routine search, because they got some kind of tip that this was a school for mutants. I couldn't tell him the truth about Stryker kidnapping some of us and then trying to use that copycat Cerebro to kill mutants everywhere, without spilling the whole pot of beans about the X-Men. And, I **so** hated lying to him about it."

"Why don't you just tell him the truth then? If you two are gettin' so close and he's handled what you've told him so far, Ah'm sure the rest'll be fine with him too." Rogue suggested.

"Probably, but after I got into that fist-fight with 'Big Boy' at MSG, I was shocked that Doug even wanted to have anything else to do with me. Maybe I'm being selfish, but it's nice having a pretty normal relationship for once in my life, and I don't want to screw that up." Jubilee revealed.

As soon as Jubilee finished her revelation, Rogue stood up from the floor now that she had finished lacing her boots up.

"How do Ah look?" Rogue said, as she slowly turned around to model her powder blue blouse, matching sheer gloves, and dark blue pants for Jubilee.

"I guess you're dressed perfectly for a night of looking at…whatever it is they keep at that museum." Jubilee surmised, "And, I seriously doubt a dress-code'll be in effect."

"Remy said he wanted to take me there, to broaden his horizon, and Ah decided to call his bluff. But, Ah don't think it'll be as bad be as you're makin' it out to be." Rogue told her.

"I wonder what Bobby would think about it?" Jubilee said abruptly out of the blue, as she unexpectedly brought up Rogue's ex-boyfriend.

"Bobby? Probably nothin'." Rogue replied, "Things're over between us."

"Is that what he told you?" Jubilee asked her.

"Not in so many words, but he didn't have to. Ah think that's pretty much the idea you're supposed to get when someone dumps you. Plus, the whole vibe that Ah got from him before we broke up was that he had just lost interest." Rogue told her, as she put on her earrings in the mirror.

"Sure he did." Jubilee said, without realizing that she had vocalized her thoughts.

"Huh?" Rogue asked, as she turned back around from the mirror on the wall.

"Nothin', I was just ramblin'." Jubilee told Rogue.

Jubilee recalled what Bobby had told her about the depression that he had been long suffering with, because of his family problems back home. He also revealed to her that he had sought out a professional therapist to help him as a result. Jubilee wanted to tell Rogue about it, but remembered that Bobby had only told her because she had promised to keep it confidential, and Jubilee knew that it wasn't her place to reveal those personal details about him.

"So, where're you and Doug going tonight?" Rogue asked Jubilee.

"He's pickin' me up a little later. We'll probably just go out to a movie or somethin'." Jubilee assumed.

"You know, the four of us should go on a double date, or maybe even a triple date with Peter and Kitty sometime." Rogue suggested, as she grabbed her purse off of her bed.

"Okay, I'll ask Doug. I'm sure he'd love to." Jubilee replied.

"Ah'll ask Remy and see what he thinks. Speakin' of which, Ah'm sure he's waitin', so Ah'll see you later tonight." Rogue said, as she now headed for their bedroom door.

Rogue quickly made her way to the stair case and went downstairs, where she saw Remy sitting in a chair down there. He was decked out in a beautifully tailored maroon dress shirt from his wardrobe, which he was wearing with the top button undone.

"Now, if you ain't a vision of beauty, _Chere_, I don't know what is." Remy complimented Rogue, as she reached the bottom of the large staircase.

"We ain't even out the door yet, and you've already started with the smooth talk." Rogue commented, as Remy opened the front door for her.

"What can I say, somethin' comes over me when I'm around you, and I can't help but tell de truth." Remy said to her.

"Well, we'll see if that holds up when your nose starts sprouting a few extra inches." Rogue smirked, as they continued on to the garage area.

Once inside, Remy and Rogue went in to decide which vehicle to take.

"Well, which one?" Rogue said, as she asked Remy's opinion.

"I'm partial t'dis one." Remy answered, as he went and got on a blue motorcycle, "Ain't no sense in lettin' a fine piece of machinery like dis go to waste."

"But, that's Logan's bike." Rogue pointed out, "If he comes out here lookin' for it, you're gonna have one angry Canadian on your tail."

"I doubt it, I saw him walk by my room on his way out earlier. Plus de jeep is gone, so he prob'bly took it, for a change." Remy guessed.

"Alright then, here." Rogue finally agreed, as she put on a bike helmet and handed another one to Remy, from a hook over on the wall.

As they sat down on the bike together, something else caught Rogue's attention.

"Um, you don't have the keys for the bike. Logan must still have them with him." Rogue pointed out.

"Don't you worry none, you wit' Kid Creole. Tonight, I got everyt'ing under control." Remy boasted, as he proceeded to hot-wire the motorcycle. He revved the engine loudly so that everyone within earshot could hear it, then he and Rogue were off. Rogue sat behind Remy with her arms around his waist, and held herself very closely to him as they began their night out together.

------------------------------

Meanwhile at the Auger Inn, which was one of the more unsavory establishments in the local region, Scott and Logan were seated inside at a booth in the back, where they could at last converse.

"Well?" Logan asked, as a waitress brought two domestic longnecks for him and Scott to their table, "You said you wanted to talk?"

"I know our relationship hasn't been that great from the start, but I think it's time we got past all of this animosity between us." Scott said, as he took a sip from his beer, "I thought just the two of us going somewhere to discuss things might help."

"Hell, you've taken a giant leap in that direction, by lowerin' yourself and parkin' your derrière in a place like this to swig the drink of the common man." Logan replied, as they sat in the mostly full bar, which was normal for a Friday night.

"Where did you get this idea that I think that I'm better than everyone else?" Scott inquired.

"I didn't say you think you are, but a lot of the time you sure act like it." Logan answered, "And why wouldn't you, you're Xavier's perfect little X-Man."

"Just because I take my responsibilities seriously, doesn't mean I have some sort of superiority complex over everyone else." Scott told him, "Look, I'm not the type of person that wears his emotions on his sleeve, and as a good friend pointed out to me recently, that does give the impression that I'm inaccessible. That's the main reason that I asked to join you here tonight, to try and change that image a little."

While Scott had now only drank a third of his beer, Logan was finished with his and was already ordering another one from the waitress, as she once again passed by their table.

"You know, we can sit here talkin' about who's accessible to who, but let's get right down to the heart of it." Logan said, as he awaited the waitress's return, "We've been all 'Jerry Springer' ever since I first made a play for Jean."

With that statement, Scott just stared at Logan for a moment, before taking another large sip of his drink.

"Logan, it's like I told you that first night after you and Rogue were brought back to the mansion. If I had to tell you to stay away from Jean to keep her, then she and I had problems that went far beyond you." Scott stated, as he took Logan's assertion into careful consideration, "But, I could see the effect that you had on her. It was like some part of her, a wild, dangerous part of her came alive after she met you. It was a side that seemed to stay hidden from everyone else, including me. Jean and I loved each other with no question, but I guess I was a little jealous that I could never reach that part of her."

"That's just the point. Whatever feelin's she may or may not have had for me, it was you she chose in the end." Logan responded, as his second beer now arrived, "When it comes down to it, that's what really counts."

"Maybe, but to be honest that's the last thing that comes to mind when I think about Jean now." Scott told him.

"Really?" Logan remarked.

"Yeah, the thing that I remember the most is the moment when I first realized that I loved her." Scott continued, "It was after one of the first missions that the original X-Men ever went on. We had just stopped Magneto and his Brotherhood from an attempted secret coup of a small nation in Central America. We had won, but I was so busy beating myself up because they had managed to escape, that I couldn't stop to enjoy our victory. So, Jean came up to me and straightened me out."

"What'd she tell you?" Logan asked, as his second beer now arrived.

"She," Scott replied, as he started to chuckle slightly, "told me if stopping the most powerful mutant that we had ever faced (well, at least up to that point) and helping to prevent the toppling of a Democratic society wasn't enough for me, then I should go wait on our plane until I got my head out of my rear. Although, those really weren't her exact words."

"Sounds like 'Red' had your number pretty early on." Logan said, as he laughed a little too.

"Obviously. Which is why I knew I loved her from that point on. What else could make a man actually not be bothered by someone telling them off like that, if it isn't love?" Scott said, as he finished.

"I don't know, maybe someone with a self-deprecatin' sense of--" Logan started to reply, before a loud beeping noise interrupted him.

"Where's that coming from?" Scott asked.

"This." Logan said, as he pulled a phone from his leather jacket, "I went to go buy me a new hat last week, and I saw that they were sellin' these new video phones in a shop nearby. I got it so me and Mariko, the lady I've been seein' over in Japan, can keep in touch."

"So, is she trying to call you now?" Scott asked him.

"Hell no. Whenever I turn on the damned thing, it goes off once every hour, on the hour." Logan explained, "Short-stuff helped set it up for me, and I'm gonna have her show me how to turn this alarm off when she, the Professor, and Drake get back."

"You're talking about Kitty?" Scott replied, as he was unfamiliar with Logan's nickname for her.

"Yeah, she even pointed out if I take this phone and use it down in the War Room, I get better reception from that multi-purpose, super antenna you've got hooked up down there." Logan revealed, "Which reminds me of something I've been wonderin' about. Maybe we should adapt our hand-held communicators to have a video screen, like the one on this video phone I'm holdin'?"

"That's…actually a good idea." Scott said, as he complimented him, "I'll run it by Hank and Forge, to see how feasible it is."

"Looks like I found a new use for this head of mine, other than havin' someone punch me in it." Logan said, as he also complimented himself.

"I don't know, maybe I'd like to test that theory out hairball?" A voice said, as Logan and Scott looked up from their conversation to see a very large individual now standing at their table. From the bandana, to the long beard, to the sleeveless denim jacket, the big guy looked like your stereotypical member of a biker gang.

"Can we help you?" Scott asked him, although it wasn't in a very friendly tone.

"You can't do a thing for me four eyes, it's your friend that I came over here for." The big guy nicknamed Roadkill replied as he looked over at Logan, "I been comin' in here lookin' for you every night for the last month."

"I've been outta the country, and I just got back recently." Logan told him.

"Before your little vacation, did you come in here about a month ago and pick up a really hot red-head?" Roadkill wanted to know.

"Maybe, what's it to ya 'Pork Chop'?" Logan answered.

"What is it? That's my wife, you son of a bitch!" Roadkill shouted.

"She sure wasn't actin' like it that night." Logan responded, in his most smart-assed tone, "Besides, I didn't see her wearin' any rings on her fingers, and she never mentioned havin' a better half at home waitin' for her. Anyways, it was just one night and I'm involved with someone else now, so give my regards to the Mrs."

"No, this isn't over, until I say it's over." Roadkill stated, as he looked back at Scott "Maybe I should make an example out of your new boyfriend over here first, and then you?"

"Boyfriend? I'm sorry, but neither of us have even discussed that kind of commitment yet." Scott said very mockingly, as he looked up at Roadkill.

"So, you're some kinda comedian, huh?" Roadkill remarked.

"You don't have any idea how off the mark you are." Scott replied.

"Well, let's see how far off this is, punk?" Roadkill said, as he swung at Scott, a man that had a black belt in martial arts, who ran two grueling sessions a day in the Danger Room, sometimes more, and a man who could spot a sloppy punch aimed at him from a mile away, all in spite of the Ruby-quartz glasses that he was forced to wear every day of his life.

"Mister, you really didn't want to do that." Scott said, as he dodged the blow and grabbed Roadkill by the arm that he had use to throw the punch with. Scott then jumped to his feet and violently slammed Roadkill down on the table extremely hard, while Logan quickly stood up as well.

"Damn, Cyke! Get a couple drinks in you, and you start actin' like me." Logan smirked.

Roadkill hit the table with such a powerful thud, that the entire bar heard it and immediately knew that something had been broken in half, either the table or Roadkill himself. Then, a number of other men started towards Logan and Scott, most likely friends of the now unconscious Roadkill.

"I hope you left your dancin' shoes at the door, because it looks like these boys are aimin' for some serious action." Logan said to Scott as roughly about a dozen men, all dressed in attire similar to Roadkill's, started towards them in a hostile manner.

"You know, this hardly seems fair." Scott said, as he and Logan moved closer towards each other.

"Figures you'd be readin' out of a rule book when things get thick." Logan sarcastically remarked, as he got into a fighting stance.

"Maybe we should tell them to wait, and see if they want to round up some more of their friends before we get started?" Scott said, as he looked at Logan, who was surprised at Scott's sentiment.

"I thought I was gonna regret comin' here, but it looks like I'm gonna like hangin' around with you after all, Boy-Scout." Logan said, as he couldn't help but smile, while at the same time dodging a broken bottle now being swung at him.

-----------------------------------

Not too far from the bar where Scott and Logan were in the middle of handing out a free clinic in the fine art of bar-room brawling, Remy and Rogue were just now coming out of the Plain Hills Museum and Art Gallery.

"Ah must say, Ah'm very impressed with you." Rogue said to Remy, as they walked down the steps of the museum, each of them holding their motorcycle helmets that they had just picked up from the front desk.

"Not that you don't have a million reasons t'be impressed with _Moi_, but which of those did you pick?" Remy asked her, as he removed the darkly tinted sunglasses that he wore around strangers out in public. He put them on to prevent the inevitable stares that he received because of his unusual looking eyes.

"It was the fact that you walked around most of the museum with me and listened to the tour guide, as she explained each exhibit to our tour group." Rogue revealed, "Although, Ah'm sure you were bored out of your mind."

"You make it sound like I was just actin' de part. I was very much interested, and your non-belief in dat wounds me greatly." Remy responded, in a voice feigning pain from her comment.

"Well, Ah'm sorry." Rogue giggled, as she put her arms around his and walked next to him through the parking lot to the bike, "You have my sincerest apologies."

"'Sides, I couldn't help but pay attention. What, wit' all of those very rare and extremely valuable artifacts in there." Remy pointed out to her, which made Rogue take notice of those last words for some reason.

"Very rare and extremely valuable artifacts? If Ah didn't know better, Ah'd have half a mind to think you were planning your next big heist. " Rogue smiled, as she ran her hand up and down the sleeve of his arm.

"C'mon now, I told you before I done left dat old life behind me, it's de main reason I come back here wit' you and Logan." Remy said to her, "I wanna change, and you make a man feel like he can change. I wanna be somethin', someone, better."

"You make it sound like this gal's been a good, rehabilitatin' influence on you." Rogue told him, as she looked up into his handsome face. Then from up above, something overhead abruptly caught her attention.

"Ah wonder what that is?" Rogue said, pointing to the sky.

"Dat? Must be de Scorpio's Comet they been talkin' 'bout." Remy explained, as they finished their journey across the parking lot to where the bike was, and then they both looked up at the night sky again.

"What's Scorpio's Comet?" Rogue questioned him.

"I heard it on de news, before you came into de room earlier today." Remy continued, "They say it's some sort of huge meteor dat orbits around all de planets, and comes 'round these parts once every 103 years."

"Wow, it sounds like a once in a lifetime event." Rogue remarked, as they both stood holding hands, watching the comet slowly pass by on its voyage through the heavens.

"Yeah, lots of t'ings only come 'round once in a lifetime." Remy said in a much more serious tone, as he looked down into Rogue's eyes.

Then suddenly, Remy moved in close to kiss her.

This time Rogue was absolutely sure that she wasn't being influenced by some outside source, and she was just as sure that she wanted to feel the sensation of Remy's lips next to hers.

"You know we can't." Rogue said, as she fought back the temptation within and finally did stop Remy. They stood together with their faces mere inches apart, as she put her gloved hand against the side of his face.

"I know, but you can't blame a man for wantin' to." Remy said, as he now held Rogue securely in his embrace.

"Trust me, Ah know the feelin'." Rogue replied, "But, Ah got enough people swimmin' around in my head as it is."

"What do you mean, _Chere_?" Remy asked, unsure of what she was talking about.

"Every time Ah make skin to skin contact with anyone, I absorb their memories, their life force, and in the case of other mutants, their powers." Rogue answered.

"Yeah, you tol' me all 'bout dat." Remy recalled.

"Well, after the effect wears off, Ah'm still left with a small permanent piece of that person inside of my mind." Rogue elaborated, as she looked back up at the comet, "Ah can still feel Cody, Bobby, Logan, Amara, John and Magneto floating around in there somewhere."

"Must be some party dat you got goin' on upstairs?" Remy remarked, as he embraced her once again, while Rogue put her head against his chest.

"Not really." Rogue started, "After awhile, Ah don't remember much when it comes to details about their memories, and eventually they start to feel like a book that you only thumbed through a long time ago. The Professor's shown me techniques to help keep them in the background of my mind, and most of the time Ah don't notice them in there."

"Well, I say it's probably time I got you and de gang home." Remy said, as he hopped onto the blue bike, "But, let them know we gonna take de scenic route."

"Ah don't think tonight was too bad, especially as first dates go." Rogue asserted, as she got on it behind Remy, with her helmet in both of her hands.

"Yeah, but for our second one let me pick de destination." Remy said, as he turned around to look at her with his helmet in his right hand.

"You sure are confident. Ah mean, assumin' that Ah even want to go on a second date with you." Rogue said, as she played coy with him.

"Gambit knows you can't wait t'go and paint de town three different shades wit' him." Remy boasted, "And dat's exactly what we gonna do."

With that final statement, Remy started the bike up, revving the engine loudly a few times, and then began his and Rogue's journey home.

-------------------------------------

While Rogue and Remy would make the most of their night out, stopping at a long-time favorite haunt of the students at Xavier's school known as Harry's Hideaway, Logan and Scott's night would end much earlier than their younger teammates.

"And how high exactly does tonight rate on your scale of 'Wild Nights Out'?" Scott asked, as the front door to the mansion opened, late enough that most of its younger residents were in bed or at least in their bedrooms.

"Not bad, but I've seen a whole lot wilder." Logan cheerfully said, as he walked in behind Scott and closed the door behind himself.

"I'm sure that you have." Scott said, as the two men stopped in the foyer by the front door.

"All I know is that the highlight for me ain't gonna be the fact that tonight was the best throwdown I've been in since returnin' stateside. It's gonna be what I heard come outta your mouth, '_We haven't discussed that kind of commitment yet_'." Logan said as he shook his head, "I swear Summers, I didn't think you had enough personality in that rigid body of yours to even throw out a comeback like that."

"**Ahem**…"

…Was the voice that the two men heard from the main rec-room that was nearby, as they turned to see Ororo standing in the room's doorway.

"That must mean it's past my bedtime. I'll be seein' you two later." Logan jokingly said to Ororo, as he walked by her to head upstairs to his bedroom. Although, he was sure tonight wouldn't be any different than the previous ones, when it came to him actually getting any sleep.

"Good Night, Logan." Ororo warmly replied, as she turned back towards Scott.

"Is everything alright?" Scott asked Ororo, as she kept staring at him.

"I suppose I should ask you that very same question, considering the way you and Logan came in here like two sailors in from a night out on the town." Ororo amiably answered, "I'm glad to see the two of you finally getting along, but what in the world happened to bring about that change?"

"We just had a little boy's night out together. Logan and I were able to put some of our differences to rest, and even got into a fight. Surprisingly, it wasn't with each other." Scott replied, as they walked into the rec-room together, "So, what are you doing up so late?"

"After I left the War Room to come up here and check on you, Alison informed me that you had left the mansion in a hurry. So, we sat and talked about her new teaching responsibilities, and I gave her a few pointers." Ororo answered, "That, and we also talked for awhile about her life on tour as one of the world's top entertainers."

"Did you find out anything new regarding the Sentinels while you were in the War Room?" Scott asked, as they sat down in the rec-room together.

"Not much more than when you left, I'm afraid." Ororo informed him.

"Then, tomorrow morning we'll just have to find a new stone to turn over." Scott said, as he sat back in his chair, contemplating what that new stone would be…

----------------------------------

Prologue-

"I am so wiped after a day like today." Kitty said, as she, Professor Xavier, and Bobby entered the lobby to their hotel in Washignton D.C., following an evening spent at one of the finer restaurants in the city.

"Me too, but we were just spectators. I can only imagine how you feel, Professor." Bobby said, as he looked down at his teacher, as they moved through the lobby towards the hotel's elevators.

Bobby and Kitty's comments came on the heels of a day that had seen Professor Charles Xavier speak before a Congressional Committee. He warned them about the dangers of allowing anti-mutant fanaticism to blindly label any individual born with an accelerated genetic structure as a danger to society.

"The exhaustion I may feel as a result of my time spent in front of those Congressmen and women, is tempered by my hope that I might have opened a few eyes to the consequences of persecuting individuals, merely because they are different." Professor Xavier said, as they stopped and waited for the elevator that would take them to their rooms upstairs.

"Well, after a good night's rest, at least we'll be on a plane back home to Salem Center tomorrow morning." Kitty said to them.

"We will be returning home tomorrow, but there is one brief stop that I would like to make on the way. It is to a place that has held my curiosity for some time now, and that I had been intending on paying a visit to." Professor Xavier revealed.

"What's this mystery place?" Bobby asked him.

"Actually, it should be familiar territory for you, Robert. It appears that there is another school that specializes in helping young mutants to control their powers, located in Snow Valley, Massachusetts."

"Snow Valley? I know where that is." Bobby confirmed, as the elevator finally arrived, and the three individuals boarded it.

"I assumed that you would. Who knows, you may even run into a familiar face there?" Professor Xavier said to Bobby, just as the elevator door came to a close in front of the trio…

-----------------------------------

Next Chapter: That's right, Professor Xavier, Shadowcat, and Iceman take a look around Mutant Prep…

-----------------------------------

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you like the way things are unfolding, and I hope you enjoyed Rogue and Remy's date. Hopefully whenever they go out on their next one, it'll live up to your expectations as well.

**TheDreamerLady**- Glad you liked the last chapter Amanda (and Lanco too). As far as Forge's modifications, he did upgrade their Blackbird and build/upgrade a second Blackbird for the team, during their initial Blue/Gold team era. But given the alien technology at his disposal, those planes were probably far more advanced than what the movie-verse team would be working with. I do plan on having Illyana pop up again down the road, her last appearance was when Peter went home following his brother's death. But, I don't think she'll be going through her Magik phase just yet. As far as Dazzler, it looks like you two might have something in common when it comes to doubts about her teaching ability, but I'm sure things'll work out for her. And as you read, Rahne isn't the only who'd like to get her hands on Stephen Lang right about now. But, Rahne may find some help dealing with the rough time she's been going through, from an unexpected source.

**Episodic**- Hope you enjoyed this update as much as the last one. Yep, as you can see Logan and Scott did work through some of their personal issues, albeit, in an interesting environment. As far as the group in D.C., you can see Mystique is very well house trained. And here's a few more pokes in the shoulder, if that helps any…

**plutospawn**- Glad you loved Jubilee in here, I've been disappointed by her lack of inclusion too. Two whole movies, and she's only had like two or three sentences. They could've at least let one of them be some trademark wise crack out of her. That's the main reason I included her in this fic, and given how old the actress' they've had portraying her appear to be, I decided to write her a little more maturely than she's normally seen. Hopefully these plotlines won't explode, else it'll take me months to scrape them off all of the walls…

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you like how all of the character's relate to one another. Yeah, as we've seen with Bobby, holding things in usually only makes them worse. But, a lot of people do that, instead of going to others for help when things in their life get to be too much. Normally, the Professor would easily sense something wrong with one of his students, but following his injuries on Muir Island and his own issues regarding that, things aren't quite back to normal just yet when it comes to his telepathic powers. And, it looks like Lang is going to give Stryker a run for his money in the 'crazed, mutant-hating maniac department'.

**Blacknight369**- Well, I hope you enjoyed the major Romyness in this chapter!

**Independent Fire**- I hope you liked how everything in this last chapter moved along for Rahne, Logan/Scott, and Rogue/Remy.

**B**- Hope you liked this chapter too.

And to show that Istill read reviews of my previous stories, I'd like to thank the next reviewer for giving her recent opinion on Land of the Silver Sun.

**Racetrack's Goil**- Glad you loved this fic, the X-men's adventures in Japan really had an impact on me and I hope that this story lived up to those tales.


	7. Alternative School pt 3, The School Ties...

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

----------------------------

Chapter 7- Alternative School Part 3, The School Ties That Bind

---------------------------

"So, this is the Massachusetts Academy?"

This was the comment made by Bobby Drake, as he drove along the lengthy road from the entrance gate of the school to the campus, in a late-model, silver-colored luxury SUV. It had been rented to bring him, Professor Charles Xavier, and Kitty Pryde from Logan International Airport, where they had arrived in Boston, to this private institution.

"That's what the sign out front says." Kitty responded from the passenger-side seat next to Bobby, as the rental turned onto a driveway in front of the school, "It's not too shabby, though, and it's definitely bigger than our school, Professor."

"The Massachusetts Academy, at one time was a very populated private school, attended by children from the wealthiest and most elite families in the country." Professor Xavier replied, as the utility vehicle slowly came to a stop in front of the school, "But it apparently ran into financial difficulties a number of years ago, and had to eventually close its doors. Recently, a successful business-woman named Emma Frost bought the academy, quietly re-opening it as a school for disadvantaged and troubled youths."

"Sounds pretty charitable." Bobby said, as he put the SUV into park.

"She probably only did it, so she could get a choice photo-op out of it." Kitty asserted, as she opened the passenger door and was about to get out of the vehicle.

"I think that there may be more to Ms. Frost's motivations than merely receiving good publicity." Professor Xavier said, which made Kitty pause for a moment and look back at her teacher, "I have strong reason to believe that her students, like mine, are actually mutants. If my suspicions are correct, given the current climate and attitudes towards us, she is actually taking a substantial risk with such an endeavor."

As Kitty now stepped out into the partly cloudy late-spring morning, both she and Bobby were dressed far more casually than they were the day before in the nation's capital. Kitty was wearing a maroon red, basic knit sweater, which had a high-cut v-neckline with a tan and red diamond design intertwining across the front of it. Her outfit was completed with a matching pair of trendy corduroy pants.

Bobby got out next, wearing a long-sleeved dark blue, rugby-style polo shirt, which had a yellow horizontal stripe across the chest area, and a pair of denim-colored cargo pants. Bobby immediately went to the back of the SUV, so that he could get the Professor's wheelchair for him. While helping the Professor into his chair, the trio heard someone greet them from the top of the steps in front of the school.

"Welcome Professor Xavier, I trust that your trip was a pleasant one." Emma Frost, the platinum-blonde headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy said, as she walked down its front steps to the exterior of the institution. She was dressed in a white soft linen pantset, her long blazer covering a spandex sleeveless tank, which clasped from behind at a tapered collar around her neck.

"As pleasant as air travel these days can be, I suppose." Professor Xavier warmly replied, as he maneuvered his motorized chair over towards her. He was wearing a black three-piece suit, white dress shirt and a black and gray diagonally stripped tie.

"As CEO of Frost International, I have to travel to various destinations around the world, and I know all to well what you are talking about." Miss Frost revealed, as she went over to the Professor, and then looked over to the two individuals walking up behind him, "And these must be your students."

"Yes, this is Bobby Drake to my left, and Kitty Pryde to my right." Professor Xavier replied, as he motioned towards the teenagers standing nearby him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both." Miss Frost said, as she shook each of their hands. Then, she turned around to introduce a silent observer, who had kept herself at a small distance from the group, "I would like to introduce you to one of my most gifted students, Angelica Jones."

As Angelica walked down the stairs towards the group, dressed in a front-buttoning turquoise blouse with small French cuffs and black front faux pocket pants, her fire-red locks seemed to naturally flow behind her with each step. But, the girl who had earned the sensational moniker of 'Firestar' from Emma Frost herself, didn't think of herself as even being pretty, let alone beautiful. Not helping her self-esteem was the fact that she was surrounded every day by girls who, in her eyes, were thinner, taller, and more attractive than she was. Girls', such as her fellow classmates Roulette and Boomer, and also her seemingly flawless headmistress. Angelica had always been self-conscious about her looks before she came to the Massachusetts Academy, and now that she was there, she felt as though she just didn't rate in comparison.

But, despite her own self-perceptions, Angelica was in fact a voluptuously attractive young woman. It was a detail that most definitely caught the attention of a certain young man standing at the bottom of the stairs, who himself originally hailed from the state of Massachusetts, but now resided at another school in New York's Westchester County. But more important than her looks, Angelica seemed to possess a wholesome aspect to her being, which instantly shone through. It was a quality that more than a few would agree was far more appealing, than those attributes that merely ran skin-deep.

"Charles, I think that it would be a wonderful idea if Angelica gave Kitty and Bobby a brief tour of the school, while you and I went and continued our conversation." Miss Frost proposed.

"That is an excellent suggestion." Professor Xavier replied.

"Well then, if you'll kindly join me on the veranda, Angelica will bring Kitty and Bobby along a little later." Miss Frost said, as she and Professor Xavier started down a small sidewalk on the side of the main building, which led to the rear of the campus. This left the three teens alone at the school's anterior.

"Um, it's nice meeting you, both of you." The characteristically introverted Angelica nervously said, as she stood in front of Bobby and Kitty.

"Same here." Kitty politely replied, as she shook Angelica's hand.

"It looks like we lucked out, what with getting you as our own personal tour guide." Bobby said, as he shook Angelica's hand as well.

"Wow, uh, thanks." Angelica happily replied, as she smiled and blushed briefly, before releasing Bobby's hand. "Hey, why don't I show you our student lounge first?"

"That sounds like a great place to start." Bobby responded to Angelica, as she stood gazing up at him.

With Kitty nodding in agreement, Angelica then led the way to an area inside of the school where her classmates liked to gather, so that they could relax and blow off some steam.

----------------------------

After a very lengthy and leisurely stroll, where Angelica had pointed out many of the numerous antique items that Miss Frost had furnished the main campus building with, the trio finally made it to the student lounge. The room was similar in appearance to the student's rec-room back home at Xavier's, but the one at the Massachusetts Academy was nearly three times larger. This one also had a very large flat, plasma-screen television on the wall in the center of the room, and there were also two slightly smaller T.V.'s at each end of the room. One of the side-T.V.'s had both a PS2 and an X-Box video-gaming console hooked up to it.

"Is this a student lounge, or an electronics expo? Not that I'm complaining, or anything." Kitty quipped, as the trio walked into the room.

"Some of the stuff in here is from Miss Frost's own company." Angelica revealed, as she walked over to one of the side-T.V.'s, which was manufactured by the headmistress's electronics company, "When she's about to put out something new, we get to see it here first. Like this for example, Miss Frost personally came up with a system to connect entertainment devices, like VCR's, DVD players, stereo's, and video game systems to a television, without wires or cables. Instead, you just connect this little digital relay box on the back of each device. It sends a signal to the main switch on the back of the T.V., which makes it easier to set up, and gives you more flexibility with your entertainment system."

As Angelica picked up the various components linked to the T.V. and showed Kitty and Bobby what she was talking about, something suddenly occurred to Kitty.

"Oh my God, I just realized who your teacher is! She's the owner of Frost Technotics, isn't she?" Kitty surmised.

"Yeah, that and about a dozen other companies." Angelica replied, "But, she seems to be proudest of her electronics company, she's a real wiz when it comes to that kind of thing."

"You guys are pretty lucky to have her for a headmistress." Kitty stated, as she was definitely able to relate to Miss Frost's love of technological innovations.

Just then, a couple of students in the lounge noticed Angelica and the two visitors. They paused the video game that they were currently playing, and came over to talk to the newcomers.

"Aren't you going to introduce your new friends to the rest of us, Angelica?" The first young man asked, as they stood in front of the group.

"Sure. This is Bobby Drake and Kitty Pryde, they go to Xavier's down in New York." Angelica said, as she began the introductions, and then turned back towards Bobby and Kitty while pointing towards her classmates, "This is Haroun al-Rashid to your left, and Matthieu Everard to your right."

After Angelica had introduced Haroun al-Rashid, the young man from Morocco known as Jetstream, and Matthieu Everard, the French citizen who was called Bevatron by his fellow students, Bobby greeted them.

"It's nice to meet both of you." Bobby said, as he shook Haroun's hand first. But, when Bobby shook Matthieu's hand next, he felt a small surge of electricity flow through his body, which caused him to quickly release the handshake.

"_Excusez-moi_! Sometimes I forget that I can have a rather…shocking personality." Matthieu said with a mischievous smirk, as he referred to the mutant bio-electric energy that his body generated.

"We were just talking about Miss Frost, and how she keeps your student center over-stocked in hi-tech goodies." Kitty now said to the group, in particular Matthieu and Haroun.

"I, more than anyone, owe much to her generosity and technical ingenuity." Haroun obliquely replied, referring to how Emma Frost had found and helped to heal him. It was after his mutant ability to fly had first emerged, and had nearly gotten him killed as a result.

"Let's see, you've met Haroun and Matthieu. Over on the sofa is Joanna." Angelica said to Bobby and Kitty, as she pointed over at Joanna Cargill, the young lady code-named Frenzy, who was seated on the sofa in front of the largest television in the room.

"Uh-huh…" Joanna simply said when Angelica called her name out, but didn't bother to look up at the school's visitors as she continued watching the program in front of her.

"Well, I think I've shown you everything there is to see inside of the school. I guess I can show you the commons area outside next, especially since it's such a wonderful day out today." Angelica suggested, as she had finished introducing everyone in the student lounge, and the novice tour guide prepared to take her tour group to its next destination.

Just as they were about to leave the lounge, Bobby saw the strangest thing walk by in front of him.

"Where'd you get the lavender cat from?" Bobby asked curiously, as the tabby with lavender-hued fur walked by them, into the student lounge.

"Oh, um, Miss Frost found her and brought her here. Don't worry, she's not dangerous or anything." Angelica replied, as she quickly led the group out the room, without elaborating any further about the mutant known as Catseye. Born Sharon Smith, the young mutant preferred to remain in one of her various feline forms, as opposed to her human state. What Angelica didn't realize was that to Bobby, and especially Kitty, it was a situation that they understood all too well back home.

--------------------------

While Angelica, Bobby, and Kitty were on their way to a part of the school that looked like a small park on the campus, Professor Xavier and Miss Frost were overlooking that very part of the school, from up above on the outdoor veranda.

"From what I have seen, the Massachusetts Academy appears to very much be a first-rate institution of academia." Charles commented, as he sat facing Emma. They were both seated together at a small patio table, which had a large umbrella centered in it, which was opened up over them.

"Coming from such a revered expert in the field of education, I consider that to be more than an honor." Emma said, returning the compliment, as she and Charles both sipped beverages that had been brought by her personal staff to them.

"I also assume that you have, by now, figured out the other reason for my visit?" Charles posed to her.

"Yes, it no doubt has to do with the single defining trait that all of my students share, the presence of an X-gene in their DNA." Emma replied.

"I had been hearing rumors, through very reliable sources, about a school in Massachusetts that took in mutants. I wanted to come and see if that was, in fact, true." Charles revealed.

"You are correct, Charles." Emma straightforwardly confirmed, "As you know with your own school, we cannot openly advertise what it is that we do. But, through underground sources like the ones that you were referring to, the Massachusetts Academy is becoming known for its work in helping young mutants, many of whom require specialized assistance in learning to use their mutant abilities."

"I am curious, what is it exactly that motivated you to open a school such as this?" Charles asked her.

"I suppose, in part, I have you to thank. But, it most likely goes back to when I was a young girl, and my mutant gift first emerged." Emma said, as she took off her sunglasses, which she had put on while sitting on the sunny patio and began her explanation, "I was terrified of this newfound ability of mine, and I had no idea how to control it. Nor, did I know where I could turn to for help."

"And what ability would that be?" Charles inquired, a brief moment before he received his answer.

As Emma began to smile a little, Charles could feel a burning sensation at the base of his brain, which was painful and increased in intensity with each passing moment.

"I am a telepath, gifted with the ability to communicate with the power of my mind, just as you are." Emma said to Charles telepathically. Then, she noticed the anguished look on Charles' face.

"Charles, are you feeling okay?"

"I…am fine now." Charles telepathically replied, "It has been some time since I've had the opportunity to communicate with another telepath, via psi-link. A recent injury has made it somewhat painful to do so, however."

"If conversing in this manner is too taxing for you, I can terminate our psi-link." Emma mentally offered.

"No, the discomfort seems to have passed." Charles psionically responded, "Now, you were telling me about your decision to re-open the Massachusetts Academy as a place of learning for mutants."

"Well, there I was, thirteen years old and unable to stop the constant barrage of thoughts that were flowing through my mind." Emma telepathically continued, "I was terrified, as I'm sure that you can relate to from your own experience, when you first discovered that you were a mutant."

"I remember that day quite vividly." Xavier empathized.

"Eventually, I did learn how to create psi-shields on my own, to block the rest of the thinking world out of my mind. I also taught myself how to use and control those abilities to their fullest potential." Emma psychically stated, "It wasn't until years later that I even heard of your school's existence."

"You appear to be around the same age as many of my first students. It is a pity that I did not discover you then." Charles telepathically told her.

"Indeed. Who knows how differently our lives would have turned out?" Emma answered, this time in a genuinely wistful tone. She was thinking back to her turbulent childhood growing up in Boston, and about the difficult choices that she was forced to make once she finally decided to leave that home for good.

"But, I've had always had an intense desire to become a teacher, to help mold the next generation." Emma continued, "After the experiences of my own youth, I decided to dedicate my life to ensuring that no other young person would have to go through what I did. Many of my students already come from troubled home lives, which become further complicated by their mutant powers suddenly appearing. While your school is highly revered, you are only one man and cannot do it all on your own. I simply want to do my part to assist, by taking in those children that could surely benefit from a fresh start in a wholly new environment."

"In that case, it sounds as though we are lucky to have you." Charles telepathically complimented her, as he held his beverage in hand, "You said that you are from Boston?"

"Yes, I was raised there." Emma replied.

"Are you related to a Winston Frost, whom I believe is from Boston?" Charles inquired.

"Well, he was my father." Emma answered, surprised by Charles' connection, "Did…you know him?"

"I recall meeting him once, many years ago." Charles mentally revealed, "It was right after I had been offered membership into an organization known as the Hellfire Club. Have you ever heard of it?"

Emma was stunned that Charles would choose to bring up that particular subject with her. But now, she wanted to learn what Charles was getting at, and decided to play along to see.

"Yes, what socialite hasn't? The Hellfire Club is known worldwide for attracting only the most powerful and elite as its members." Emma psionically stated.

"As was pointed out to me. Your father and I talked for some time that night, with him informing me of the benefits to membership." Charles said to her telepathically.

"Did you become a member?" Emma inquired.

"Oh no, it seemed more suited for those individuals that like to lead a more, how would you say, 'active' lifestyle." Charles jokingly replied, "What about you, Emma?"

"Well, I'm a member of the Hellfire Club, as are all of my siblings. It was passed down to us through our father." Emma telepathically answered, "But, I find myself only able to attend functions there on occasion. Running this school, on top of my responsibilities to Frost International, I find leaves little free time to myself."

"That is very understandable." Charles responded.

Just then, Professor Xavier and Miss Frost saw Kitty, Bobby, and Angelica walking by, off in the distance. They were apparently engaged in a very interesting conversation, at least Bobby and Angelica were, judging by how engrossed in their discussion they appeared to be.

"You know Charles, I think that it would be a good idea if perhaps we put together a joint function in the near future, so that all of our students could get to know one another better." Emma suggested to him, as they watched the three teens pass by.

"I believe that can be arranged. What did you have in mind?" Charles mentally asked her.

"I was thinking of a dance, perhaps a formal soiree." Emma clarified, "Since we have been talking so much about it, I'm certain that I could secure the use of the ballroom at the Hellfire Club in New York City for the evening."

"I think that my students would very much appreciate, and enjoy, such an invitation." Charles said, as he gave his approval to her proposal.

-----------------------------------

Meanwhile down in the commons below, Bobby and Angelica were oblivious to the conversation that was taking place up above, as they were currently very busy with their own.

"You know, this is a really huge campus. It's a lot for only four students going here." Bobby said, as he and Angelica were walking side-by-side, with Kitty trailing right behind them.

"Oh, we're not the only ones that go here. All of the older students are just away for the day." Angelica responded, "They're off on a field trip, for a class assignment. Miss Frost said they had planned it a few weeks ago, and she didn't want to disappoint them by canceling it. It's too bad though, I think one of them would've probably done a better job of showing you two around, than I did."

"What're you talking about? You did an awesome job giving us the grand tour of this place." Bobby told her, as they stopped walking for a moment, "In fact, if you ever want to visit our school, I'll return the favor and show you around there."

"Sure, that'd be really neat!" Angelica smiled, as she felt an enormous amount of elation inside.

Angelica and Bobby stood facing each other, with her blue eyes gazing up at him, once again. But, the two teens glanced away from one another, when they noticed Kitty making a gesture at somebody.

"Who are you waving at?" Bobby asked Kitty.

"The Professor and Miss Frost, up on that patio. They're over on the other side of the clearing." Kitty replied, as she now brought her arm back down and pointed at their teachers, after the Professor had acknowledged seeing her.

"**Oh no, I completely forgot**! I was supposed to take you two back to where they are, when we were finished with our tour inside. Miss Frost is going to be so disappointed with me." Angelica said in a worried tone, as she turned to hurriedly lead Bobby and Kitty over to the Professor and Miss Frost.

But in her desire to make a quick return, Angelica whirled around a bit too quickly, and nearly tripped over herself when she lost her balance. Luckily for her, she was in the company of someone with fast reflexes, and who was in the right place, at the right time.

"Are you okay?" Bobby asked, as he was close enough to Angelica to grab her from behind with both arms, and prevent her from taking a nasty fall.

"I'm…fine." Angelica sighed, now very much embarrassed by her klutzy display.

"You're not hurt, or anything." Bobby further questioned her with concern in his voice, as he continued to hold Angelica in a tight embrace.

"Nothing major. Except for my pride, I guess." Angelica answered, now that Bobby had finally released her, once she had regained her balance.

"Well, don't feel bad. It just means I get to return my favor a lot sooner than expected." Bobby jokingly said, as he tried to lighten up the situation. It was obvious to him that Angelica appeared mortified at her clumsy exhibition.

But despite his pleasantry, Angelica didn't respond to his remark. Instead, she just pushed her hair back around to the side of her face from its front, and stared down at the ground.

"Come on, let's go up and join the Professor and Miss Frost." Bobby said, as he took Angelica by the hand, "And this time, you don't have to try to run off and leave your tour group."

"Okay." Angelica finally responded, now looking up at Bobby and managing to give him a partial smile, as the trio started off together.

-----------------------------------

With their sightseeing trip around the campus completed, Angelica reappeared on the large balcony patio with Kitty and Bobby. Professor Xavier then told Miss Frost that he believed that he had taken up enough of her time, and that they would soon be departing for home in New York. While the headmaster and headmistress finished discussing some last minute business, Bobby and Kitty went on ahead to the SUV parked in the front of the school.

"I don't know what it is about you 'Icehead', but you sure have a way of making some girls fall head over heels for you." Kitty said to Bobby, as they walked along a small path on the side of the school, which led from the veranda in the back to the driveway in the front.

"What are you talking about?" Bobby inquired.

"I'm talking about the way Angelica was actin' around you today." Kitty responded.

"She just got a little embarrassed about her near-accident." Bobby replied, as they continued their trek.

"Heck, I'd be embarrassed too. Especially, if I nearly fell flat on my face in front of the guy that I had the 'major hots' for." Kitty giggled.

"She does not have the 'hots' for me." Bobby replied with a smile, as he looked over at Kitty.

"Face it, Angelica's totally crushing on you." Kitty said, half-teasing Bobby.

"She was just being nice to us." Bobby told her.

Kitty then stopped, as they were now on the sidewalk close to where the rental car was.

"You boys are always so clueless." Kitty happily pointed out, "Angelica was checking you out the entire time."

"I didn't see her checking me out." Bobby challenged Kitty, as he went over to lean back against the side of the SUV.

"Yeah, because unlike boys, most girls have the good sense to not be completely obvious." Kitty laughed.

"I think you have an over-active imagination." Bobby replied.

"No, us girls are actually trained to notice this kind of thing." Kitty confidently told him.

"So, is that what they teach all of you on sex-ed day at school? You all learn secret observation techniques, while the boys get taken into some overcrowded classroom and are shown a badly-acted film about the birds and the bees?" Bobby jokingly inquired.

"Yeah that, and how to take a sheet of paper, and fold it to make those little origami puzzles." Kitty very sarcastically replied, as she folded her arms in front of her.

"Anyways," Bobby responded, "Angelica is cute, but I don't think I'm ready to get involved with anyone new, just yet."

"You won't know until you get back on that horse, or pony, or small donkey, or whatever it's supposed to be." Kitty said, as she continued with her light-hearted comments.

"After getting bucked off last time, I just want to concentrate on getting my saddle fixed first." Bobby told her.

"You're still hung up on Rogue, aren't you?" Kitty unabashedly asked him, point-blank.

"No, I'm not. I do still care about her alot, but I've accepted that she's moved on to, 'what's his name'." Bobby humorously replied.

"Oh, you know his name." Kitty said to him.

"Okay, that she's moved on to 'Remy'." Bobby obliged, "But, it's not just that. I've had other personal stuff going on with me, which I'm just now getting a handle on how to deal with."

"Like what?" Kitty asked him.

"Without rehashing the whole thing, I'll just put it this way. Don't bottle up what you're feeling, it only makes things worse and ends up hurting the people that you care the most about." Bobby answered and advised her.

Bobby was vaguely referencing his own personal issues, which had contributed to the end of his relationship with Rogue, but Bobby's point was one that hit very close to home with Kitty. She immediately thought about her own inner-turmoil, which she had been keeping a secret from Peter. But, she was sure that nothing like what happened to Rogue and Bobby, would ever happen to them.

-------------------------

Once Miss Frost had bid Professor Xavier and his students' farewell, she immediately returned to her luxurious private residence, which was located on the campus. After the short walk, Emma went inside and up the staircase to her private study on the second floor of her mansion. But, once she opened the door to the very large room, it was apparent that her study was not as private at the moment, as it normally was.

"This is some setup you've got in here." Tabitha, who was also known as Boomer said, as she was seated in front of a large T.V. in the headmistresses' beautifully-decorated study.

"If you are referring to the television, it is identical to the one located in the student lounge, and also in the senior-student's residence hall." Miss Frost said, as she went and sat down at her desk in the room.

"Not that, I just meant that this room has a certain…finesse to it, is all." Tabitha clarified, as she was dressed in a light pink sweatshirt with the Massachusetts Academy's logo on it, and a pair of black shorts.

"Thank you, Tabitha." Miss Frost responded, "I trust that the rest of you managed to find a way to keep yourselves occupied, while you were in here?"

"Yeah, me and Tab actually went through every single one of the hundreds of satellite channels you've got." Jennifer, the young lady code-named Roulette, who was wearing a yellow cut-off t-shirt and white spandex tights told her, as she had been seated on a small sofa next to Tabitha.

"Meanwhile, others of us were able to find more constructive ways to pass the time, Mistress Frost." Manuel, the mutant known as Empath said, as he held a book in his hand that he had been sitting and reading through. He was attired in a conservative cobalt, long-sleeved dress shirt and midnight-blue dress pants. Manuel was also wearing pieces of fine jewelry on his hands and wrist, like an expensive gold, custom-made wristwatch.

"What a dork, reading a book on a Saturday!" Lance, known as Avalanche rudely laughed, as he stood close to the window in the study and looked out of it. He was donning a sleeveless denim vest, over a simple black t-shirt, a pair of faded denim jeans, and a pair of black leather gloves that had the finger holes cut out of them.

"I would not expect an illiterate buffoon such as yourself, to appreciate the satisfaction received from exposure to classic literature." Manuel replied, in a tone that matched the attitude of Lance's remark.

"What'd you say, Pretty boy?" Lance angrily asked, as he turned back around from the window to face Manuel, who was on the other side of the room.

"I didn't stutter, Cretin!" Manuel answered, as the tall and athletically built Spaniard quickly stood up, and threw the book that he was reading down into his chair.

"**Both of you settle down, now**! Or, I will settle things for you." Miss Frost loudly commanded Lance and Manuel, and received immediate compliance from both of her students.

"You two should probably save all of your energy. If Xavier's lookin' the place over, then it'll only be a matter of time before the X-Men are breathin' down our necks." John, one of Professor Xavier's former students who had been nicknamed Pyro, told them.

The deputy leader of the Massachusetts Academy's senior-squad was sitting back, in an extremely contemplative position. He was seated in a corner of the room, close to where Lance and the window were, dressed in an olive-colored, long-sleeved cotton shirt and a pair of black jeans. John also had a very familiar metal cigarette lighter in his hand, which happened to be closed at the moment.

"I wouldn't be too concerned with that at the moment, dear Jonathan." Miss Frost said to John, from behind her desk.

"Why not? Isn't that why you had us hide out here during the Professor's visit?" John asked her.

"I didn't keep the five of you in here because I was afraid of your former teacher. I wanted to know exactly why he decided to pay us a visit, and I didn't want to tip my hand, if it wasn't yet necessary." Miss Frost confidently told him.

"Do you think he's figured out I'm here?" John continued to inquire.

"I don't believe so. But, even if he has, it will only save us the trouble of making a formal announcement to them later." Miss Frost responded, "Xavier and his X-Men, despite what they may believe, are not the sole group of powerful mutants on the planet. If they desire a confrontation with us, then they will be taught that fact, beyond any shadow of a doubt."

"Do you really think we're a match for them?" Tabitha now asked her teacher.

"More than likely, yes. But, I wasn't necessarily referring to the Brotherhood." Miss Frost intimated to her.

"Who, then, are you talking about?" Manuel inquired.

"Let's just say that I am associated with other individuals who are more than up to the task, and leave it at that." Miss Frost said, with a mysterious smile, "Just make sure that all of you are prepared to do your part, should the need arise."

"It looks like we won't get to find out whether we're a match or not, at least not today. They're loading that Xavier guy into their SUV, and gettin' ready to leave." Lance said from over at the window. Then, something totally unexpected caught his attention, and he spoke again.

"John?"

"What's up?" John responded from the chair in the corner, as he replied to Lance.

"You never told me you went to school with Kitty Pryde. I didn't recognize her at first, since it's been awhile and because she had her back turned towards me, 'til now." Lance said, as he looked down at the young girl, who originally hailed from Deerfield, Illinois.

"Well, there's a lot of kids at Xavier's that I haven't talked about. I just told you guys about the oldest ones, because Xavier was so strict about us using our powers. He wouldn't even let us run any of the combat training sequences in the Danger Room back when I went there, just the basic obstacle course-type stuff. I figured we had at least a couple of years before we'd even have to deal with the other ones in a fight." John explained, "Why, do you know her or somethin'?"

"Yeah, back in a whole 'nother life man." Lance confirmed, as he continued to closely observe the three visitors outside.

Once Kitty and Bobby had helped Professor Xavier into the rented SUV and then got in themselves, the trio soon departed. Miss Frost then spoke to her students once again.

"Go ahead and return to your quarters, I have an important call that I need to make. I will talk with all of you again, later this afternoon." Miss Frost instructed her charges as the five students, who were also secretly members of the Brotherhood, got up and left.

Once outside of Emma Frost's residence at the Massachusetts Academy, Lance, Jennifer, John, Tabitha, and Manuel started down the concrete path that led to the Senior-Residence hall. The special dormitory had been set-aside by the headmistress for students, whom she deemed were the most excelled at the institution. To the other students that didn't reside inside of that dorm, it was simply called the Senior-Residence. But, to the ones that did live there, they had secretly christened it 'The Brotherhood House'. On their way back, the senior-students ran across one of those younger, unsuspecting classmates.

"Hi guys." Angelica greeted them, as she stopped in front of them on the walkway, which was surrounded on both sides by large oak trees, "I thought you were all off on a field trip?"

"I guess it means that we got back early then, doesn't it 'Wall-flower'?" Lance said to Angelica in an insulting tone, calling her by the nickname that she despised.

But, Angelica was determined that nothing was going to ruin the delight that she was feeling today. So, she just continued on, marching through the group towards the regular dormitory building and without bothering to respond to Lance's remark. But, one of her classmates couldn't help but notice Angelica's present state of exhilaration.

"It appears that our little Firestar is smitten with someone." Manuel said to Jennifer, as the two of them stopped on the walkway, halfway between the headmistress' campus residence and the Brotherhood House, so that they could talk while Lance, John, and Tabitha continued on.

"Really? And how do you know that?" Jennifer questioned him.

"Need I remind you that I am called Empath for a reason. My powers are such that they are linked directly to the emotions of others around me." Manuel rudely reminded her.

"Let me guess, she's falling in love with you?" Jennifer teased him.

"I think not. I would say, however, that given her close proximity to him throughout the day, that Miss Jones has become enamored with the Iceman." Manuel revealed, with a wicked grin on his face, "Now, I wonder what Mistress Frost would say, if she were to learn that her favorite student possesses such amorous feelings for a potential enemy of ours?"

"Oh, Manny forget about her, let Angelica have her little fantasy boyfriend." Jennifer responded, "Why don't the two of us go out tonight and have some fun, maybe to a movie or somethin'?"

"Very well, but don't delude yourself into thinking that this is a date." Manuel sneered.

"A date? C'mon, I said that I wanted to have fun tonight." Jennifer sternly and sarcastically replied, letting Manuel know that not every girl that met him automatically found him irresistible.

-------------------------

In almost no time, the silver luxury SUV that Bobby was driving had made it to the entrance ramp of a major highway that ran southeast towards New York. He, Kitty, and Professor Xavier were now officially on their way home.

"Westchester, here we come!" An excited Kitty said from the car's passenger seat, as she was very eager to get home and see Peter. Although they had only been apart for a few days, to a teenage girl in love, that could feel like an eternity.

"How long do you think it'll take us Professor?" Bobby asked, as he sat on the driver's side of the automobile.

"If there is no major traffic congestion, I would say no more than a few hours." Professor Xavier replied from the backseat.

"Well sit back and relax. Even though I haven't been driving as long as that guy you hired to be your part-time chauffeur, I'll do my best to live up." Bobby said, as they now were merging onto the interstate highway traffic.

"Don't worry, Robert. So far, you've demonstrated that you possess top-notch driving skills." Professor Xavier said, as he complimented his student.

"You know, the Massachusetts Academy seems like a pretty cool place to go to school. But, don't worry Professor, I'm not thinking of transferring or anything." Kitty said jokingly to her teacher.

"It seems that a former classmate of yours has already beaten you to that distinction." Professor Xavier responded, which immediately drew the curiosity of both Kitty and Bobby.

"What are you talking about, sir?" Bobby inquired.

"Right before we left, I detected the presence of John Allerdyce at the Massachusetts Academy this afternoon." Professor Xavier revealed.

"**Pyro**! How do you know he was there?" Bobby asked in a very lively tone.

"Thanks to a telepathic nudge from Emma Frost, my own abilities seem to have gotten a jump-start as a result. When at their normal levels, I could always telepathically sense the presence of my students when in a nearby vicinity, former or otherwise." Professor Xavier explained.

"Do you know what he's doing there? Why didn't we see him during our tour?" Bobby continued to inquire.

"That, I am not sure of, as of yet." Professor Xavier stated to them.

"Could you tell if other members of the Brotherhood were there?" Kitty asked, as she turned around to look back at the Professor.

"I cannot be certain of that either. I only felt John's presence for a brief, passing moment. My telepathic abilities still aren't strong enough to allow for a more thorough scan. But, I think it is safe to assume that there is more to the Massachusetts Academy, than meets the eye." Professor Xavier answered.

This gave all three individuals in the vehicle a new prospect to ponder, during the last leg of their journey home. Professor Xavier, Kitty, and especially Bobby, wondered how they would handle that first face-to-face meeting with their former classmate, ex-student, and uncertain friend. At one time, they thought John had shared in their dreams and desires to help create a better world, one where humans and mutants could live together peacefully. That was, until he left them at Alkali Lake, so that he could follow the radically different vision of another man.

----------------------------

Later that evening back at the Massachusetts Academy, many of the students there were now starting to settle in for the night. But one student, on the other hand, was still very busy. He found himself engaged in one of his favorite activities in his bedroom, one that he had come to look forward to nearly every single night.

"Say John, what the hell are you doin' in there?" Lance shouted, as he stood outside of John's room on the second floor of the Brotherhood House.

"Somethin' kind of private. Look, I'll talk to you later, okay?" John replied briefly from inside of the room, hoping that it would be enough to get Lance to leave.

"**Oh man**! In that case stud, I'll let you and Tab get back to business." Lance grinned, as he faced the door and drew his own conclusions about what John was currently doing in his bedroom.

"Alvers, what exactly are you rambling about?"

Lance then quickly spun around when he heard the inquiry, and his jaw nearly dropped when he saw Tabitha standing there in the hallway with him. She had just come from her room, which was located on the other side of the upper-level corridor. Tabitha was now standing in front of Lance with one of her hands on her hip, as she blew out a bubble with her bubblegum and looked him squarely in the eye.

"I…thought you were in there with John. You know, gettin' together." Lance said to her, as he pointed back at the bedroom door with one hand, while holding a brown paper sack in the other.

"Gosh, I hate to be the one to wreck your little pervo-fantasy, but as you can see, I'm standin' out here with you." Tabitha told him, as she ran her other hand through her medium-length blonde hair, which had small rose-tinted highlights in it.

"Then, what is John doing in there?" Lance asked her.

"Sorry, but he made me promise not to tell anyone. Anyways, I'm headin' downstairs to watch T.V. with Irene, while she listens. I just hope she doesn't have another one of her premonitions, and ruins it by telling me how the show ends." Tabitha said, as she turned and headed for the staircase a few feet away.

As Tabitha descended downstairs, the now extremely curious Lance wheeled back around to face the bedroom door.

"All right, Pyro. You gonna tell me what's goin' on, or do I have to start bribin' people?" Lance, once again, shouted through the door.

"Fine, just a second." John responded, as Lance could hear movement within the room and the sound of footsteps heading towards the door.

The door then opened, with John standing in the doorframe for a very brief moment, before he turned to go lie back down on his bed in the well-lit room.

"Now, what's this big secret that you're keepin' in here?" Lance said, as he walked into John's room behind him, and tossed the paper sack down on another, spare bed in the room.

"Like I said, it's kind of private." John answered, as he went back to writing in a notebook on his bed.

"What, you doin' homework? I don't know why you couldn't just say that to begin with." Lance told him, as he now sat down on the spare bed.

"It's not homework. It's something I'm writing, for me." John finally revealed.

"You're keepin' a diary!" Lance said, with a loud laugh, "You want me to get one of Tab's skirts for you, to go with it."

"It's not a diary, it's a journal, ass." John clarified for him, "I like to write about random stuff in here, short stories and things like that."

"So, are you and De la Rocha in some sort of teacher's pet contest then?" Lance responded.

"I don't know what your big deal is about education, I mean in case you haven't noticed, we do live at a school." John said, as he stopped writing and sat up on his bed, "Didn't you come here to try and at least learn something new?"

"Shit no. I came here because Mystique showed up, and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I figured anything had to be better, than spending the rest of my teen years rotting away in juvey." Lance replied, "After Mystique got me sprung from that hole, she took me to Magneto, and he said that they knew I was a mutant. That was something I hadn't told anyone, especially around the guys I was in with. Anyways, Mags said he wanted to recruit me for this school to help teach me how to use my powers, so here I am."

"Speaking of which, I know Mystique's in D.C., but where's Magneto been?" John asked Lance, as he grabbed the journal on his bed, and once again started writing in it.

"Beats me, I don't think anyone's heard from 'The Old Man' for awhile. Maybe he's gone off on a vacation, or somethin'?" Lance said, as he ventured a guess. Then, Lance saw an item sitting on the night table next to John's bed, and couldn't help himself as he took the object to inspect it more closely.

"What do we have here? Well, if it isn't the famous Allerdyce lighter." Lance stated, as he quickly grabbed the lighter, and proceeded to taunt John with it.

"You have two seconds to put that back **exactly** the way you found it." John warned Lance, while still looking down and writing in his journal.

"And if I decide I want to keep your fuckin' pacifier, then what?" Lance challenged him.

"Then, they're gonna be scrapin' you off of the front lawn of the school, after I knock your ass all the way out there." John threatened him, as he threw his journal down on the bed, and quickly stood up with his fists clenched tightly.

"Then, let's see what you got, Pyro." Lance responded in a very serious tone, as he also stood up from the spare bed, and fearlessly flipped up the lid and flicked the lighter on.

John and Lance then stood there facing each other in a standoff, one that had the potential of turning very ugly, very quickly. But after less than a minute, the stalemate was finally broken by one of its participants.

"Here." Lance said, as he closed the lid on the lighter and tossed it back over to John, "You need to learn to lighten up, literally. It's not like it should be hard for you, of all people, to do."

"Whatever." John replied, as he took the lighter and laid it back down on his night table, before sitting back down on his bed.

"I've always wondered why you're so uptight about that lighter? It's nice, I guess, but its not like someone could take it and hock the thing for a load of money." Lance said, as he sat back down on the spare bed, and reached over into the paper bag next to him.

"It's valuable to me for other reasons." John replied simply, as the lighter held sentimental value for him, with Tabitha being the only person at the Massachusetts Academy that he had revealed those exact details to.

"Anyways, here's the reason I came up here." Lance said, as he now tossed a beer to John, which he had brought with him in the bag.

"Where'd you get this from?" John asked.

"I 'borrowed' a few from Fred's room." Lance revealed.

"Don't you think he's going to come lookin' for these?" John questioned him.

"No way, he's totally passed out in there already. Sometimes I wonder why Magneto sent us to break him out of prison, I would've been more than happy to take the job of house beer-taster. Besides, you don't have to worry about Blob, his room is a total disaster area and I doubt he'll even realize they're gone." Lance assured John, as he opened the beer in his hand.

"Yeah, his room is the exact opposite of Irene and Raven's room." John responded, as he opened the can in his hand, "I just hope Miss Frost doesn't do one of her random mind-scans and catches us."

"Damn, quit actin' like an old lady! And, quit worryin' about Frosty, I know I'm not." Lance said as he took a sip.

"You can talk big, but you do remember what she did to Matthieu, don't you?" John reminded Lance, as he referred to their classmate code-named Bevatron.

"Who could forget? I remember when 'Frenchie' thought it'd be a good idea to mouth off to Frosty in front of everybody." Lance recalled, "Before he knew what hit him, Frost totally screwed up his mind with one of her mind-blasts. In no time, she had that kid singin' Be True to Your School in front of the whole student body. Then later on, she booted him back down to the junior squad and telepathically wiped his memories of ever bein' part of the Brotherhood. Good thing is, we got a real looker like Roulette as his replacement."

"I think Tab was happier about it than you, since now she's not the only girl on the senior-squad anymore." John added.

"So, you want another one?" Lance asked, as he had finished his first beer and opened a second one, before offering John a second one as well.

"Nah, man." John replied, as he went back to writing once again.

"Just means more for me." Lance said, as he chugged the second beer, tossed the empty can into the paper bag, and got up to head for the door, "Anyways, I'm gonna leave you with your diary, so I can go and finish unwinding in my room with my new friends."

"Later." John replied simply, as Lance left with the paper bag, while John continued with his writing. Then, John paused for a moment, as he thought back to what had started this hobby of his in the first place.

It was during one afternoon, back when he was still at Xavier's. Bobby and Rogue had been spending more and more time near-kissing each other, and John had had enough of being a spectator to that. So, he sought refuge from their display, in another one of the school's smaller rec-room's. When he got there, John came across another one of his classmate's, Piotr Rasputin, busily sketching as he sat on the sofa. Upon seeing him, John finally decided to ask Peter why he spent so much of his time drawing, which Peter was more than happy to explain. He described how his artwork allowed him to express himself, in a way that he found himself unable to do with spoken words. Peter even offered to give John a few pointers, handing him his sketchpad and grease pencil. After nearly an hour, it was apparent, both to John and to Peter, that it would take many more lessons to get John to the point where he could draw a convincing stick figure. And, so ended John's brief art career.

A few weeks later in Mr. Summer's English class, when John actually happened to be paying attention, he heard his teacher mention that they could keep a journal and turn it in for extra credit. He even told his class that they could write about anything, as long as they were actually writing something, and not repeating the same word for an entire page. John decided to give it a shot, figuring that it couldn't hurt a grade point average that desperately needed all of the help that it could get. So, he got a notebook one night when he was alone, and wrote for a good two hours.

All of three sentences.

Then, he remembered what Peter had told him about expressing those emotions that were kept deep down, and something instantly clicked inside of John. He found that words were suddenly pouring out of him onto the page. He wrote about whatever came to mind, things that he never even realized were inside of him. Soon, John came to find that he thoroughly enjoyed this activity, and even experimented with different writing styles, including poetry. But, he definitely didn't feel comfortable in share his writings with another living soul.

That is, until Tabitha Smith one day happened to stumble across his new journal. It was one that he had started after arriving at the Massachusetts Academy, and she wanted to know what was inside of it.

After some convincing on her part, John agreed to allow her to take a look in it. Once she read some of its contents, Tabitha was blown away by the fact that John, who usually displayed a fairly hostile attitude towards the rest of world, could have the capacity to write things that were so tender and thought provoking. It was what helped to draw Tabitha closer to John, as she wanted to know more about this young man, who was apparently more complex than she had previously given him credit for. John, on the other hand, was just content with the fact that she hadn't laughed at his writings. But, John was also glad that he had finally found someone in Tabitha, that he actually felt at ease with sharing that part of himself.

(A/N: I based the whole thing about John being a writer on the original character, who was an accomplished author and free-lance journalist.)

-----------------------------------

"So, did'ja miss me?"

This was the question posed by Kitty, as she found herself in the welcoming embrace of Peter Rasputin, the two of them now in front of the mansion back home in Westchester later that night.

"Like that is not a loaded question." Peter playfully replied, as held Kitty up in front of him with his hands around her diminutive waist, while she had her hands clasped around the back of his neck.

"Not if you answer it right." Kitty told him, as she looked at him face to face.

"If I did not miss you, Katya, then why would I have been the first to come out here and welcome you home?" Peter pointed out.

"I guess I'll give you a passing mark with that." Kitty smiled, as she gave Peter a very passionate kiss, verifying that he had indeed given the correct response to her inquiry.

"Well, I don't have a greeting as sumptuous as that, but it is good to welcome you home Professor." Henry McCoy said, as he came through the front door next, to greet the returning travelers. He had seen them arrive on the school's video surveillance system, which had monitors throughout the mansion, including his laboratory down below.

"Your sentiments are still appreciated." Professor Xavier replied, as he wheeled up a small ramp on the curb of the driveway, after Bobby and Peter had helped him into his chair.

"I'm going to go park this rental in the garage for tonight. Peter and me can go turn it in tomorrow." Bobby said, as Professor Xavier nodded in approval. With that, Bobby got back into the silver SUV, and then departed in it for the school's garage in the rear.

"The students and myself were riveted by your address of the Senate committee yesterday." Hank revealed, as he and the Professor started towards the front door together, "Even many of those bureaucratic officials themselves, appeared to be thoroughly impressed by your performance."

"I merely spoke from the heart. Hopefully, I have managed to lay another new beam in a bridge of understanding between mutants and non-mutants." Professor Xavier replied, as he looked up at Hank.

"Speaking of understanding, the Professor understands a lot more when it comes to current music." Kitty interjected, as she had pointed out some of her favorite singers on the radio to the Professor on their ride home, "Now, you can impress your friends by being the first one to name a John Mayer or Alicia Keyes song when you hear it."

"I suppose I should thank you Kitty, for your efforts to help keep me hip." Professor Xavier lightly remarked, as Peter picked up most of the luggage that had been unloaded at the curb, and walked next to Kitty, behind the Professor and Hank.

"Ouch. Me and Jubilee are definitely going to have to work on your vocabulary next." Kitty joked.

"Thank you, but I believe I will pass on that particular offer." Professor Xavier politely declined, as the group continued on inside.

---------------------------

After parking the rented SUV in the school's garage Bobby got out, where he next ran into Logan. They talked for a moment there, with Bobby telling Logan about the trip to Washington. In return, Logan told Bobby about what they didn't find at Bolivar Trask's base, as well as going into great length about someone taking the blue motorcycle, which he and Scott were apparently sharing joint-custody of, out for a joyride and how it needed to be re-tuned to his liking. After their brief conversation was finished, Bobby made his way to the house, carrying a moderate-sized traveling bag with a long strap tossed across his shoulder. When he opened the kitchen door, Bobby decided to take a shortcut through the mansion. But, he soon found that he had a welcoming committee inside, one that neither he nor the welcoming committee itself were expecting.

"Hey, guys." Bobby said, as he entered one of the smaller rec-room's in the mansion near the kitchen and greeted the group gathered inside, which consisted of Amara Aquilla, Samuel Guthrie, Terry Cassidy, Rahne Sinclair, and Roberto Dacosta.

"How was Washington D.C.?" Sam asked Bobby first, as the group was gathered on or around the sofa in there, all of them watching one of the music video channels.

"It was nice. We even got to do a little sight seeing around the city, while we were there." Bobby replied, as he stopped to talk for a moment.

"Did ye get t'see the President?" Terry now questioned him.

"Not this time." Bobby answered her, "I think he's out of the country, at a summit with other world-leaders in Switzerland."

"That's a dumb question anyways. It's not like you can just walk into the White House and say 'I want to see the President'. You have to be someone important, just to make an appointment with him." Roberto said to Terry.

"Don't call my question stupid, I can ask it if'n I want to, 'Berto!" Terry angrily responded to him.

"It's alright, just calm down Terry." Bobby intervened, before Terry's yelling turned into a high-pitched sonic scream that would shatter windows as it rang throughout the entire house. Then, Rahne spoke next, although it had nothing to do with Washington or the President.

"I think the lass singin' this song should get some more clothes and cover herself, before she gets in trouble. The way she's movin' and dressed, tis indecent." Rahne said, as she had been so blown away at the sheer lack of inhibition by the music performer on T.V., that she hadn't even paid any attention to the conversation going on around her.

"She's just expressing herself artistically through her dancing, and by what she's wearing. It's what entertainers do." Amara said, as she was sitting next to Rahne on the sofa.

"Och, they have another name for it where I come from. Especially, with the way she's twirlin' about with that giant snake across her shoulders." Rahne replied.

"In case ye haven't figured it out Bobby, this is Rahne. She's part of the school's new modesty police force." Terry said to Bobby, as she teased Rahne from the floor below.

"And this is Terry, who feels the need t'introduce me to everyone, like she brought me in as some sorta bleedin' show-and-tell." Rahne immediately shot back at her.

"For the new kid, you catch on fast." Bobby laughed slightly, commenting on Rahne's ability to comeback to Terry's remark.

"Maybe Miss Blaire will teach us how to dance like this, in our music class with her?" Amara wondered aloud.

"Like we would be that lucky." Roberto remarked.

"I don't know, she did perform a lot, and she probably worked with a lot of these choreographers too." Sam pointed out, "We can at least ask her if she knows who helped Lila Cheney with her dance moves."

While everyone else inside of the rec-room continued the conversation, Bobby quietly left so that he could go up to his room, and unwind after his fairly eventful day. On his way upstairs he passed by the main living room, where he heard voices from within. Bobby decided to briefly look in, and see who it was in there. In the room, he saw that Kurt was seated next to Alison on one sofa, and Rogue was cuddled up next to Remy on another sofa that was perpendicular. Peter was sitting in a large chair that faced Remy and Rogue, with Kitty half-sitting on the cushioned arm of the chair, and half on Peter's lap.

"So, who'd you say dis was again?" Remy asked Kurt, referring to the movies that Kurt had selected for them to watch.

"These are from the early days of cinematography, some of them featuring a favorite actor of mine from that time named Errol Flynn." Kurt replied, as Rogue looked through the stack of DVD's in her hand, "Growing up in a circus, and looking the way that I do, meant that I didn't go out in public very much. I spent most of my time when I wasn't performing in the safe seclusion of my dressing room trailer, and I passed that huge amount of time by reading and by watching old movies. Amanda Sefton, a girl at the circus who I was very close with, would go out into whatever town that we happened to be performing in and would search for older, and rather inexpensive videotapes. The two of us would then spend countless hours watching them together, and it was something that we both eagerly looked forward to. Amanda and I came to especially love the stories that harkened back to an age of true heroes and dastardly villains, and of course, damsels in distress."

"Looks like you've patterned yourself after your favorite movies then." Alison warmly commented, as she playfully tossed some popcorn at Kurt from the bowl that was in between them.

Alison was referring to what Kurt did everyday as an X-Man, but in particular, what he had done when she met them for the first time. When the X-Men showed up at her small apartment in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York, they ended up saving her from mysterious men that were shooting at her from a nearby rooftop. To Alison the X-Men, and especially Kurt, became cemented as heroes in her mind from that moment on.

"Okay, well these are the only ones I could find by this Flynn guy, when Remy and me went to the video store earlier today. You have a choice between Cry Wolf and The Adventures of Robin Hood." Rogue said, as she held each movie in her hand, "Cry Wolf, now that sounds like an interesting title."

"But, Robin Hood is a classic, Chere. I say we go wit' him, he's definitely my kinda hero." Remy said, as he sat next to Rogue.

"Figures you'd say that, 'Sugah'." Rogue giggled, as she handed the story of the thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor to Kurt, so that he could place it into the player.

Bobby stood near the doorway and observed Kurt, Alison, Remy, and Rogue watch the movie on the televison, while Kitty and Peter were far more interested in gazing at each other and occasionally kissing, than actually paying attention to the adventure film. But, Bobby unexpectedly felt something well up inside of him, and he knew it had to do with watching Rogue and Remy, together. He knew it also had to do with her new pet name for Remy.

'Sugah', it was one of many expressions that Rogue used to hear her grandmother use frequently. Usually, it was part of a particular point that she would be trying to get across to the granddaughter that she loved so much. For example:

"_Slick, fast talkin' men might look to be as sweet 'n fine as sugah, Marie, but think twice before you go and put some in yo' coffee…_"

Rogue could still hear the words of her grandmother, as though they had just been spoken to her. For Rogue, using that expression now was sort of like her own little inside joke in describing Remy, a man that definitely had no problem in articulating himself. It was also a private tribute to the woman that she thought so highly of, and whose conversations that she sorely missed.

But, Bobby had never heard her use that term to describe anyone, and he quickly realized that while in his mind he might have believed that everything between himself and Rogue was done and over with, it was an entirely different matter to convince his heart of that fact. Bobby was getting a harsh lesson in the rules of love, rule number one being, that matters of the heart were rarely settled so cleanly, or very easily.

----------------------------------

Back at the Massachusetts Academy, Emma Frost had made herself more comfortable in front of the television in her study, now clothed in her white leather-corset and matching briefs, white leather gloves and knee-high boots, and a white faux fur-trimmed cape. It was the signature outfit worn by the White Queen of the Hellfire Club. But, she wasn't preparing to view a movie from a bygone era; rather, she was patiently awaiting a communiqué from another member of that same Hellfire Club. When the large-screened monitor in front of her flashed to life, it indicated the individual whom she had been awaiting, was now establishing contact with her.

"It certainly took you long enough to return my call." Emma said, as she was comfortably seated on the edge of her desk, with one leg resting over the other, and with a glass of the finest chardonnay to her side.

"My apologies Emma, but an unforeseen problem at Shaw Industries came up, necessitating my immediate attention." Sebastian Shaw, Black King of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, replied.

Upon first glance at Sebastian Shaw, the first thing that one would notice about him was the attire that he was wearing. It replicated fashions worn more than two centuries beforehand, a black suit made up of a short waistcoat with long coattails at the back, a white dress shirt with large ruffles that ran down the front button line and at its sleeves, a pair of tight fitting breeches and stockings, and a black pair of buckled straight shoes. But beyond that, what appeared before Emma on the monitor was a man who was forty-ish, yet whose head was brimming with thick jet-black hair. Sebastian Shaw, who had picked himself up from humble beginnings, struggled to build his company Shaw Industries into one of the world's leading military munitions manufacturers, and single-handedly turned it into a multi-million dollar venture. Sebastian was a man that possessed an innate understanding of power, in its many varied forms. He was also expert in both its acquisition, and in how to wield it once it was attained. If the pursuit of power was considered a pre-occupation for Emma Frost, then it was a downright compulsion for him.

"That will be all for now, Tessa." Sebastian said, as he motioned to someone that was off-camera to his right, before turning his attention back to the monitor that he was standing in front of, "I assume that you are calling to apprise me, in regards to your meeting today with the esteemed Charles Xavier?"

"We had a very interesting conversation, regarding educational theories and their real-world applications." Emma told him, "That, and he brought up the subject of the Hellfire Club."

"And what did you tell him?" Sebastian inquired.

"Nothing, of course." Emma responded.

"Well, you and I both knew from the day that you managed to 'appropriate' the designs for his Cerebro machine, that it was merely a matter of time before our paths would cross with Xavier and his ilk." Sebastian stated, "Judging by their previous interference in our dealings with Alison Blaire, perhaps the time has come for the X-Men to become better acquainted with the full power that the Inner Circle wields?"

"I'm not as convinced that a heavy-handed approach would be the most productive course of action at this juncture." Emma said, as she took a sip from the glass that had been placed next to her on the desk, "Diplomacy, for the time being, may prove to be far more effective."

"Diplomacy? The X-Men are most likely providing Alison Blaire with sanctuary, and you want to become friends with them?** Have you forgotten what that Blaire-witch's treachery cost us?!**" Sebastian reminded her, in a very enraged tone.

"Never! Her refusal to aid us in discovering what your predecessor, Edward Buckman was up to, nearly destroyed us. We barely survived Buckman's attempted purge of the Council of Chosen, when he had those Sentinels unleashed against us at Thunder Shore." Emma very much remembered.

"Unfortunately, my beloved Lourdes Chantel was not nearly as lucky as you, Leland and myself. She sacrificed herself, so that the Inner Circle could be born." Sebastian revealed, with pain apparent in his voice at the recollection of that day.

"I think that it would be truly poetic if those that Miss Blaire has come to regard as her protectors, were the ones to bring about her demise." Emma said with a wicked expression.

"What are you talking about?" Sebastian curiously queried her.

"It has been brought to my attention that there may be students at Xavier's school, who could be persuaded into joining us." Emma revealed.

"Really? And what would make you think that any of Xavier's students would betray the man?" Sebastian replied, questioning her assertion.

"Listening to the first one of those students to do so." Emma responded.

"Ah yes, the Allerdyce boy! I had forgotten about his prior allegiance." Sebastian remembered.

"During a conversation today, he intimated the dissatisfaction that he had felt with Xavier's over-protective guidance. And, in a previous conversation, Pyro went into other details regarding how he gained his, rather remarkable, control over his powers. He said that he mainly taught himself in how to use his powers in an offensive manner, stating that Xavier seemed only content in making sure that the boy's abilities did not pose a danger to himself, or to others. I would say that it begs to reason some of Xavier's other students most likely would share in John's sentiments, and could be persuaded to come here to master their abilities without any arbitrary limits being placed on them." Emma expounded.

"This proposal of yours sounds very logical, have you come up with a means of achieving it?" Sebastian asked.

"I've already begun a plan to swell our ranks, and it doesn't involve walking into Xavier's home and shooting up the place with those bungling idiots that you call mercenaries." Emma said in a somewhat scolding tone, referring to the hired gunmen of the Hellfire Club that Shaw had sent to Hell's Kitchen in pursuit of Alison Blaire.

"Trust me, they have been severely reprimanded for their failure." Sebastian told her, "On the subject of our ranks, how are our other young prospects fairing?"

"They are coming along. The girl named Joanna Cargill appears to nearly be ready for promotion onto the school's Brotherhood senior-squad." Emma revealed, "But, the most intriguing of my recruits has to be the one named Angelica Jones."

"The one whom you dubbed Firestar, I remember you mentioning her when last we spoke here at the Hellfire Club. She has the ability to generate pure fire from her own body." Sebastian remarked, as he sat down in a reclining chair, which was located in his office at the Hellfire Club in New York City.

"I believe that Firestar may have the most potential, out of all of my students." Emma boldly stated to him.

"And why is that?" Sebastian asked her.

"We already know that her ability is one that affords her the power to create, and then emit, microwave radiation. But recently, I had the opportunity to more thoroughly evaluate her for myself, here at the Massachusetts Academy. It appears that her unique talents allow her to affect the electromagnetic spectrum as well, and we've only begun tapping into her maximum limitations." Emma divulged.

"You said affect the electromagnetic spectrum, you mean like Magneto?" Sebastian inquired.

"If my suspicions are correct, in time her powers would become far greater than Magneto's, or perhaps any other mutant alive." Emma surmised.

"Now, this is most pleasing! A being with those capabilities, loyal to us and at our disposal, would prove to be a truly invaluable asset." Sebastian responded in a very satisfied demeanor.

"As will all of my students." Emma added, "My main obstacle with Angelica will be in altering her outlook on life. The girl genuinely wants to help the world with her powers, instead of using them to seize it by the reins, as she was born to do. I suppose it is an admirable quality, when you think about it."

"I am not worried, I have faith in your ability to enlighten the girl, as to which values that she should cherish." Sebastian replied, as he moved their conversation on to another subject, "Now that we've mentioned him, where is the latest applicant for membership into the Inner Circle?"

"It has been quite a while, since I or Mystique, last heard from Magneto. All he said to us was that he was off to take care of some 'unfinished business', whatever that was supposed to mean." Emma revealed.

"It is just as well. It wouldn't bother me in the least, if we never heard from Magneto again." Sebastian remarked.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me that you're scared of someone, who might actually give you a little competition in your bid for pre-eminence?" Emma slyly baited him.

"I fear nothing, woman!" Sebastian immediately answered her, "It's just that I still think it was a mistake in forming an alliance with him. I certainly don't want the Inner Circle dragged down with Magneto, when he decides to go on another one of his damned crusades against humanity."

"But, you can't deny the fact that a man like Magneto commands attention, from humans and mutants alike. His ability to rally followers to his cause may prove to be a useful commodity." Emma said to him.

"Or prove to be our undoing." Shaw, less than enthusiastically, countered.

"At any rate, I will be in contact with you again soon." Emma said, as she had finished discussing her planned agenda with Sebastian this evening.

"Very well. Leland was asking when we should expect to see you again, here in New York? It has been too long since The Inner Circle last convened." Shaw asked her.

"I've been pre-occupied with my own business affairs, and with running this school. But when I have another opening in my schedule, I intend to converse with all of you in person. And who knows, if things continue progressing with my young charges, I might even bring some company along." Emma told him.

"Until then." Sebastian replied, as he began to sign off.

"Give my best to Leland and Pierce." Emma parted, as her monitor went blank and shut down, leaving her in her spacious study, to consider what her next move would indeed be…

--------------------------------

Prologue-

In a small suburban neighborhood outside of Portland, Oregon, most of its residents were quietly settling in for the evening. At one house in particular, a mother and daughter were currently going through what had become their normal evening routine. It was a routine, however, that was about to be drastically altered at this day's end.

"Megan, honey, put your things away and wash up. Dinner will be ready soon." Megan's mother directed her, in her moderately-accented voice.

"Okay, Mom." Seven year-old Megan happily replied, as she got up from her coloring book on the living room floor, which had occupied her attention non-stop for most of the afternoon.

As Megan's mother gracefully continued with dinner preparations in the kitchen, the sound of the doorbell soon rang throughout the entire house.

"Coming…" Megan's mother called out, as she turned the stove off, before going to answer the door. This was a time of the day that she generally didn't receive any company, and she was curious as to who it could be.

Once she arrived to answer the door, she looked out through the keyhole. The young woman in her mid-to-late twenties was immediately overcome with both a sense of terror, and of sudden, impending danger when she saw the visitor.

"Not now! How on Earth did he manage to find me here?" Megan's mother silently lamented to herself, as she leaned back up against the front door.

Then, she shouted for her daughter to come to her immediately.

"**Megan! Where are you!**"

"Right here, Mommy." Megan replied, as the girl with slightly curly dark-brown hair, came skipping in from the living room and into the area by the front door. If Megan hadn't realized something was amiss with her mother before, she certainly did now, when she saw the panic-stricken look on her mom's face.

"Megan, I want you to listen to me and do exactly what I say." Her Mom began, "Go upstairs to your room and close the door. Whatever you hear, do not, I repeat, DO NOT come downstairs!"

"But why Mom?" Megan asked, as most children her age had a habit of wanting to know the logic behind the orders that their parents gave them.

"**Do not question me! JUST DO IT!!**" Megan's mother shouted at her, which was something rarely heard between the two. It somewhat frightened the young girl, hearing such an angry tone from her mom, and she did exactly what her mother had ordered of her without hesitation. Megan took off up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door after she had reached her destination.

When the doorbell rang a second time, Megan's mother listened to make sure that there was no sound of movement upstairs, and then took a deep breath before facing a part of her past, a past that she hoped would never come back to haunt her.

"**What are you doing here!?**" Megan's mother furiously yelled, as she opened her front door, to see an older gentleman standing there on the front stoop. He was dressed in a modest navy blue suit, and wearing a black fedora hat that hid his face to onlookers that observed him from a distance.

"Come now, is that any way to greet your father?" The older gentleman asked, as he turned the hat up to look at his daughter, whom he hadn't seen in a number of years.

"You ceased being my father years ago! Now, I suggest that you leave, before you find yourself on the receiving end of one of my hex-bolts!" The dark-haired woman angrily warned him.

"I will be going. But only after we have discussed something, which is of dire importance to us all, Wanda." Erik Magnus Lensherr said to her, with a small smile…

----------------------------

Next Chapter: **Magneto and The Scarlet Witch**! (And you thought your family reunions were bad…)

----------------------------

A/N: Special Thanks to everyone that reviewed my side-story The Work That We Did Together.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you liked the story, I thought it was nice change of pace.

**Madripoor Rose**- Yeah, that's the main reason I wrote it. Ever since X2, I've wondered how exactly Stryker would fit into things.

**HughloverX**- Well, that's all Logan had figured out so far. The way the main storyline's been going, is that he keeps getting bits and pieces of his memory in the form of dreams, but nothing really extended or conclusive. If I continue this, I'll go further into that past with Stryker and Logan, and show some of the other major things that happened to them.

A/N: Special Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter of A Force Unleashed.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you liked Logan and Scott finally settling things, which was long overdue, and Remy's time with the guys, which I think showed a slightly different side of him. I didn't realize that Jamie was such a target by everyone, but it was all meant to be in good fun at any rate. Yeah, I think Kitty's going to have to deal with her problems sooner or later, but for whatever their reasons, she just like many other people simply have trouble in finding a way to ask for that kind of help. Well, John and Bobby's inevitable meeting may not have happened just yet, but it'll be taking place before too long. And don't worry, I could never be bored when people take the time to let me know what they think of this story.

**Episodic**- Glad you liked the male-bonding stuff, I think they were just as surprised by it as you, as well as Scott digging down deep for that sense of humor he had hidden somewhere. I'm also glad the shoulder pokes are helping, even if it is only a little.

**ishandahalf**- I'm glad you enjoy bar brawls so much, and that I could oblige. If you liked Remy and Rogue's date this time, I have something a bit more exciting in store for date number two, which I think you'll love…

**Independent Fire**- Glad you loved the scenes with Scott/Logan and Peter/Rahne, and of course, a healthy dose of Romyness. Sorry about Bobby and John not delivering, but hopefully I made up with an overload of Avalanche.

**Digital Tempest**- I'm glad you like what you've read so far, and I hope that I continue to please.

**TheDreamerLady**- I believe you about the review, this site was really acting up when I kept trying to post the last chapter. Glad you like the D.C. excursion, and the guards really were just doing their jobs. Graydon Creed for U.S. Senate? Actually, he did announce his candidacy for that very job in A Force to be Reckoned With. It's also an election year, where President McKenna is seeking re-election. With politics, you never know what's going to happen, but the people of this country wouldn't actually elect Graydon Creed as a Senator, would they?

I'm also very glad that you liked RemyandRogue dating, Scott over-working but finding time to notice Alison after losing his car and the woman he loves and bonding with Logan, Jubes enjoying her boytoy while keeping a secret from her roommate who doesn't know something about her own ex, RemyandRogue getting serious, while Scott beats the snot out of someone, while everyone wonders what's going to happen next. Anyway, I hope you (and Lanco) liked this chapter just as much!


	8. Unfinished Business

A Force Unleashed 

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

----------------------------

Chapter 8- Unfinished Business

---------------------------

On what had been a tranquil and beauteous evening at one home located in suburban Portland, had now been replaced by a scene that was far more hostile. The heated emotions currently emanating from the mother of one who lived there, were the result of being suddenly and involuntarily reunited with her estranged father.

Her vexation with him could most likely be traced back to one day in her youth, a day when she was finally forced to accept the kind of man that he was. It was also the very same day that she made the conscious decision to never blindly follow her father, nor his cause again. But whether she wanted to or not, this evening she would have to deal with years' worth of resentment and animosity towards him that had been building up within her.

"I'm only going to repeat myself once, before you are the recipient of one of the most powerful hex-bolts that I can manage to create. Leave my home, or I will make sure that you land so far out in the Pacific that it will be a good long while before you find your way back." Wanda Maximoff angrily warned her father.

"I did not come here seeking a quarrel with you, my daughter." Erik Lensherr replied, as he stood and faced his daughter on the front stoop of her scant, two-story home.

"You no longer have the right to refer to me as your daughter." Wanda slowly articulated, this time in a voice tinged with even more bitterness.

Erik simply looked at the curvedly built woman with long brunette hair before him, who was dressed in an amber knitted pullover sweater and dark-colored pants. He realized that his daughter, his Wanda, had grown considerably from the docile and generally passive teenager that she had been when he first discovered her and her twin brother. Now, she was undeniably a mature and confident woman, and her features now more than ever bore a striking resemblance to her mother and to his late wife, his beloved Magda. But, Erik also very much sensed her anger at him, which seemed to border on pure-hatred and that had been sparked by his very presence.

"I wish that you felt differently, Wanda." Erik said, replying to her desire to distance herself from the fact that they were father and daughter.

"I wish that you were different." Wanda replied straightforwardly.

"Be that as it may, we cannot change who we are. And more importantly, who we were meant to be." Erik stated, as he now journeyed right past her through the front door.

"I don't recall inviting you inside!" Wanda pointed out, as she turned around to face him in the front area of the house.

"I assumed that it was a mere oversight on your part." Erik smirked, as he went into her living room and briefly looked around to survey the room, "What we need to discuss is of crucial importance."

"I said everything that I had to say when I last saw you all of those years ago." Wanda told him, as she closed the front door and followed him into the living room, where Erik had removed his hat and had taken a seat at the edge of the sofa in there.

"You know, you are not an easy woman to find." Erik said, as he sat and looked up at Wanda, his clear blue eyes meeting with hers, "Maximoff. That is an interesting choice of surnames for you to use as an alias."

"I had my reasons. I wanted to start a new life for myself, with you being one of the main reasons why." Wanda replied scornfully, as she stood at a cautious distance from him and watched her father's every move like a hawk.

"As I said before, we cannot change who we are and who we were meant to be." Erik began, "The world is transforming at a rapid pace, and the time has come for you to assume the role which you were born to play in it. You are 'The Scarlet Witch', and along with your brother Quicksilver, are heir to the new world that I want to create for mutants everywhere."

Wanda had gotten so used to being known just as Wanda Maximoff, or more often than not as 'Megan's Mom' to the other neighborhood kids, that it had been some time since she had given much thought to her former moniker.

"Is that why you are here, to drag me kicking and screaming back into your Brotherhood of Evil Mutants?" Wanda inquired.

"My days of forcing others to do what is best for them are over. I am simply offering you the opportunity to be a part of something grandiose." Erik responded.

"After all of these years, you still don't get it." Wanda quickly replied, "I want nothing to do with your tyrannical desires to make yourself mutant kind's self-appointed dictator. I've learned that there's more to life than--"

Wanda abruptly stopped, when a new presence made herself known in the living room.

"Mommy, I thought I heard Unca Pietro down here." Megan said, as she had come downstairs, only to discover that the 'bestest' uncle in the whole world was nowhere in sight.

"Mother?" Erik said in a surprised tone, as he now stood up from the sofa.

"Who's that?" Megan asked as she looked at the strange man in her home, and then to her mother.

"Dear child, I am your Grandfather." Erik informed her, as he walked closer to his newly revealed granddaughter.

"Grandpa?" Megan stuttered, confused by the fact that she had been told her maternal grandfather had died before she was born.

"**Megan, to your room now**!" Wanda shouted, which sent Megan scurrying back up the stairs. Now, Wanda worried about what would happen, since her daughter's existence had been exposed to the one person that she did not want to have that bit of information.

"Why did you neglect to inform me that I had become a grandfather?" Erik asked his daughter, in a mildly contemptuous tone.

"Because you never seemed able to successfully grasp the father role." Wanda responded in a tone that was equally as sarcastic.

"You hoped that you could hide my own granddaughter from me." Erik said to her, as he began to piece things together, "Tell me, is she a mutant?"

"That is none of your business!" Wanda sternly replied, "If I answer yes that she is a mutant, then there's no doubt you would not rest until you had her in your clutches. But if the answer is no, if I tell you that she was born without a single mutant gene in her body, then you would simply count her among the faceless horde that you regard homo-sapiens to be. I'm sure that you would consider it no less than repulsive to have a granddaughter that was merely human."

"Think what you may of me, but **never** question the love that I have for my family!" Erik ardently told her, in a voice that displayed a tremendous amount of pain from the words that his daughter had aimed at him, "As a child, I watched helplessly as everyone that I held dear was destroyed by the ideology of madmen. Had there been someone then with the power and the conviction to stand up in their defense, think of the countless lives that could have been spared the horrors of the gas chambers. Everything that I have done, I have done to assure that none of you will suffer that same fate, and that you will be allowed to have your place in this world. The time is drawing near my daughter, when you will have to choose whether or not you will accept the responsibility that you owe to your brethren to help build that world."

As Erik put his black fedora hat back on and walked past Wanda to the front door, he stopped to turn around and make one last comment to his daughter.

"I assume that you will pass my message and offer along to your fleet-footed brother." Erik said with a wry smile, as he opened the front door, "You can also extend my offer to that keen husband of yours, I am quite certain that we could use a man with his unique talents as well."

"I know that I speak for the both of them, when I say that there is no way that any of us would even consider having anything to do with you." Wanda loudly proclaimed, as her father continued on and left without responding to her, using his magnetic powers to close the front door behind him. As Wanda sat in the now empty living room, her eyes were trained on the floor as she pondered the words that her father had spoken to her, and realized that there was some truth in them.

Wanda knew that she would indeed have to make a choice soon, decisions that regarded a great number of things in her life...

-------------------------------------

The following morning in Westchester County near Salem Center, New York, three residents at Xavier's School for the Gifted were wrapping up a meeting in which they had gone over a number of recent developments, and had assessed their impact.

"I agree, Scott. As soon as Banshee contacts us with confirmation on the location of this farm belonging to the Trask family, the team should travel to join him in his investigation." Professor Xavier said, as he had left the War Room and entered the long corridor outside of it, which ran underground beneath his school.

"I'll go see what else I can gather on the Trask family, and I'll start putting together a mission roster this afternoon." Scott Summers replied, as he walked next to Professor Xavier on his right side.

"In the meantime, I will further investigate this possible connection that you have uncovered, which apparently links the Massachusetts Academy to the Brotherhood, and possibly to the gunmen that tried to kill Alison." Ororo Munroe said, as she walked on Professor Xavier's left.

"I myself am very curious as to how Erik has ingratiated himself into all of this." Professor Xavier replied to her.

"With Emma Frost involved, I suppose anything is possible." Ororo plainly said.

"I didn't realize that you knew her?" Professor Xavier responded, as his visit to the Massachusetts Academy was a somewhat spur of the moment decision and wasn't made until after he, Kitty, and Bobby were in Washington D.C.

"We met some time back, and it is an encounter that I would just as soon forget." Ororo said, as she, Scott, and the Professor had made it to the elevator that went upstairs. But while Scott and Ororo stopped and prepared to board the elevator, Professor Xavier continued wheeling down the corridor.

"Aren't you going to join us for breakfast, Professor?" Scott asked his mentor.

"I will be along later, after I have finished with Cerebro." Professor Xavier replied, as he stopped for a moment and turned back around.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Scott asked him, "Your powers have just begun to return, and trying to use Cerebro before you're ready could be dangerous."

"If I am able to successfully locate where Moira MacTaggert is, then it is well worth any potential risk to myself." Professor Xavier stated, as the elevator doors opened in front of Scott and Ororo, "Oh, if either of you happen to see Kitty, tell her that I would like to speak to her for a moment."

With that, Scott and Ororo stepped aboard the elevator and headed up to the first-floor of the school. As they departed, the doors to Cerebro opened in front of Professor Xavier after a thorough scan was done by the upgraded security system, which positively identified him before granting him access inside.

--------------------------

Meanwhile, as the Professor went to Cerebro seeking aid in discerning where one of his closest friends was, another resident at the school was also seeking aid in finding Dr. MacTaggert, but from a higher power. Rahne Sinclair was on a journey of her own away from the confines of the institute's walls, heading to the one place where she could try to make sense of everything that had happened in her life recently. After looking over a map during her student orientation that diagramed the layout of the school and the surrounding estate, Rahne discovered that there was a small chapel nearby. It was a remnant left from Salem Center's rich past, harkening back to a day and time when European's had first entered the area. After a brisk, mid-morning walk through the wooded terrain that surrounded the estate, Rahne found herself outside of the weathered holy structure.

"H'llo? Is anyone in here?" Rahne called out as she entered the chapel, but heard no response.

Rahne went inside and lit a few candles at the front of the church, providing additional illumination to the sparse light beaming through the structure's dulled stained-glass windows. After she blew out the match that she had gotten from a match-book in a small table-top case near the candle stands, Rahne went back down the steps in front of the minister's podium and sat down in the front-row pew. She then bowed her head in prayer, to ask God for answers to the questions that had been bothering her ever since Dani had helped coax her out of her catatonic wolf-state.

"Lord, I know it is'na my place t'question ye, but why would ye allow someone t'take Miss Moira away from me?" Rahne devoutly appealed, "She's the only Mum I know, and I really, really miss her. I know it's wrong t'use prayer to ask for such self-servin' things, but if ye could see fit t'bring her back, I promise t'try much harder t'be a more godly woman. Or if ye would be so merciful, at least allow me t'understand why such a thing had to happen."

With her short prayer now spoken and finished, Rahne's face rose back up and the first thing that she saw was the large cross that hung on the wall at the front of the church. Rahne did feel slightly better now, as she always did after her daily prayer, but the intense heartache that she felt from being separated from her adoptive mother still remained. It was an inexplicable hurt that she concealed, almost to the point of being unbearable to the young girl.

Rahne had finally made it to the point where she could keep from spontaneously crying over her adoptive mother's disappearance, but when she was alone Rahne still felt the need to release her anguish in the form of tears, like she was quietly doing at the moment. What Rahne failed to remember, however, was that no one was ever truly alone, especially in God's house.

"They say that God sometimes sends hardships into our lives, to help us rediscover and strengthen our faith in him." A voice with a heavy German accent said from the back of the church, which he had just moments ago entered.

Rahne had been silently crying into the palms of her hands, but upon hearing the speaker from behind the young Scottish girl was startled and instantly turned around. Before her very eyes was none other than Kurt Wagner, standing there dressed a simple crimson turtleneck sweater and navy trousers.

"I din'na hear you come inside, Mr. Wagner." Rahne said, as she wiped her tear-stained face against the sleeve of the lightweight brown sweater that she was wearing.

"I seem to have an unfortunate knack for such things." Kurt smiled, as he walked up the aisle of the chapel to its front.

"I'm not in trouble for comin' out here on mah own, am I?" Rahne asked him, "I know I should've checked in with an adult, but I told Dani and Terri where I was off to."

"Of course not. I am just sorry for unintentionally sneaking up on you the way that I did." Kurt replied, "I try to come here for divine guidance at least once every day, and I did not expect to find company out here today."

"T'be honest, ye're the last person that I'd expect t'ever see here." Rahne said, as Kurt continued past her, and went up the steps in front of the pulpit.

"And why is that, _Liebchen_?" Kurt asked with his back turned to her, as he went to where the candle-stands were and lit a couple more of them.

"It's, just…that…" Rahne said, as she fumbled her response.

"It's just that I look like the devil himself." Kurt grinned, as he turned and walked back down to where Rahne was sitting, his large pointed-tail slowly swinging to and fro behind him.

"I'm sorry for suggestin' such a disrespectful thing." Rahne said apologetically, as Kurt sat down on the wooden bench next to her.

"There is no need to apologize. In my life, far worse things have been said and believed about me." Kurt told her, as he pulled the small crucifix out of his pocket that he always carried with him, "But in the Scripture, it says that what is in a person's heart is much more important than what is visible on the outside. That teaching has helped me to endure the tribulations that I have experienced in my life as a result of my outward appearance."

Rahne sat there marveling at Kurt's obvious knowledge of the Bible, and at how he seemed so true to his faith in God. As Kurt sat next to Rahne, he held his crucifix in his right hand and began his daily prayer recitations in his native German. Although Rahne couldn't translate the actual words of what Kurt was verbalizing, she still sat mesmerized by the invocations from this pious man. Once Kurt had finished his prayer some time later, he looked over at the youngster seated next to him.

"What do you say to us returning to the mansion now?" Kurt asked Rahne, as the two of them got up to leave the small chapel. As Kurt and Rahne walked along a path through the woods together, Rahne decided to ask him something.

"Mr. Wagner, do ye think it's wrong of me askin' God to bring Miss Moira back home?" Rahne queried him, as she looked up at him in the outdoor sunlight and noticed for the first time the intricate-looking marking that were carved into his face.

"I think that He would be the first one to go to for help in matters such as those troubling you." Kurt told her, "I know that I asked many similar questions when I was your age, and prayed that He would reunite me with the mother that had abandoned me at birth."

"Your mother abandoned ye? Ye mean, she just left ye and walked away?" Rahne asked him, as she couldn't understand why a parent would intentionally do that their child.

"Yes, most likely she was frightened at having just given life to a demon, or at least an infant that very much resembled one." Kurt confirmed, "Luckily, a circus troop that had just finished a show in the area came across me. They took me in and trained me as an acrobat to perform with them."

"Did ye enjoy growing up in a circus?" Rahne asked, as she and Kurt continued their journey back to the mansion.

"Yes, I loved it there and I came to regard everyone there as my family. But what I truly loved was taking the center tent as 'The Incredible Nightcrawler'." Kurt boastingly explained, "It was also one of the few times that I felt my appearance was somewhat accepted by those that lived outside of the circus."

"But, don't ye hate the fact that ye look so different?" Rahne continued inquiring.

"Although it has caused me great difficulties, God made me this way for a reason. So, I live each day hoping that I am fulfilling whatever purpose he has set out for me." Kurt replied.

As they neared the house, Rahne was glad to talk to someone like Mr. Wagner, as his words had done so much in helping her to dealing with her own dilemmas and apprehensions regarding her mutant powers. Spending this brief time with Kurt also reminded her of something that she had read herself, to not judge others solely based on what they looked like. The reason being that God often sends his messages through the most unlikely of messengers. As Rahne was trying to figure out what all of those things now meant to her, she and Kurt suddenly heard a voice calling out to them.

"To think, I spent all of those hours running off at the mouth and I get nothing. I'm gone for like five minutes, and you decide to come out of your shell."

Kurt and Rahne were almost at the rear kitchen entrance to the mansion, when they were met by Kitty Pryde. She was leaning up against the concrete railing that ran around the cobblestone patio deck, dressed in a sage-colored basic warm up suit and sneakers.

"H'llo, Kitty." Rahne responded to her, as she spoke to the person that had come down everyday to talk to her after they had returned from Muir Island.

"You know, a girl could take your ignoring me personally." Kitty jokingly said with a huge smile, as she stepped down from the deck and went over to where Kurt and Rahne were standing.

"No, it is'nae yuir fault. It just took some of the others using a different approach to get through to me, is all." Rahne told her.

"Well, all that counts is you're back." Kitty replied, as she gave Rahne a small hug, "I could hardly believe it when Peter finally remembered to tell me about you, before he left this morning."

Kitty then turned to speak to the other party standing with them.

"So, what've you two been talking about?" Kitty asked Kurt.

"We were just having a discussion about drawing strength from in one's faith in God." Kurt replied.

"Then, I guess you guys can give me the whole non-Jewish perspective over breakfast." Kitty told them, as she turned and started back up the small steps of the deck and went to the kitchen door. Kitty walked inside with her arm around Rahne and with Kurt trailing right behind them, as the trio continued on through the kitchen and headed for the large dining hall inside of the school.

--------------------------------

On the main highway that ran between Salem Center and Plain Hills in Westchester County, Peter Rasputin and Bobby Drake were on their way back home, after having returned the SUV that Professor Xavier had rented while in Massachusetts.

"That did not take as long as I had anticipated." Peter said to Bobby, as he drove the two of them in Ororo's sleek, White Ford Cobra, "We should be home in no time."

"Since Kitty stayed behind so she could talk to Rahne, I'm sure she's all you can think about right now." Bobby replied from the passenger's seat.

"Really? I did not realize mind-reading was a newly manifested power for you." Peter smirked, as he kept his eyes forward and watched the road.

"I don't have to read your mind, I've been there myself. That, and the way Kitty spent most of the time while we were in D.C. wishing that you were there with us, I figured things must be getting pretty heavy between you two." Bobby told him.

"Yes, it would seem so. Which is something of a surprise to me." Peter responded.

"I don't see why it should be." Bobby told Peter, "I mean Kitty is pretty cute, and a brain on top of that. Plus, she's totally crazy about you."

"And I about her. But, I never imagined that these feelings could be so…intense." Peter revealed.

"That's how love works, Big Man." Bobby laughingly remarked.

"It is easy for you to say, you have had much greater experience in such things." Peter said.

"I don't have that much experience, and I obviously still have a lot to learn." Bobby responded, "Besides, I'm sure you had girlfriends before back home in Russia."

"I dated a few girls, but they were nothing as serious as me and Katya have become." Peter imparted, "The only comparable feelings which I have to refer to would either be the emotions that I feel when working with the canvas, or working on my family's farm in Siberia." Peter replied.

"Okay, I understand the painting analogy, but where'd you get the farming comparison from?" Bobby inquired, as they continued traveling in the car.

"I suppose you could say that I thought of myself as an artist even then, using the soil to mold the landscape with my own hands." Peter explained, "It was not until I came to Professor Xavier's school and was exposed to the joys of sketching and painting by Ms. Munroe, that I found a way to truly communicate that exhilaration, that passion which I felt inside."

"And you sure picked things up quick too." Bobby commented, "When it was just you, me, and John at the school, the two of us used to say we were going to save one of your portraits until you made it big-time as an artist, and then sell it to make our first million."

"It sounds like something only the two of you would come up with. Although, I have a feeling that it will be quite some time before anyone receives much of a payoff from my works." Peter slightly grinned, as he glanced over at Bobby.

Reminiscing about when he had first arrived at the school, reminded Peter of the surprising news that Kitty had revealed to him the night before. It was when it was just the two of them left in the main room talking and cuddling, long after everyone else had gone to bed.

"I still cannot believe that you and Katya were so close to John yesterday, without even realizing it." Peter said to Bobby.

"The only reason we did was because the Professor's powers suddenly kicked in, right when we were leaving the Massachusetts Academy." Bobby added, "But what I want to know is what's the real story at that school, and why is John hiding out there?"

"I am certain that we will learn the answers to your questions soon enough." Peter said in response, as the white sports car continued roaring down the highway back to Salem Center.

-----------------------------------

Back at the school, the headmaster at the institute of learning Professor Charles Xavier, a man who had successfully learned to deal with the physical limitations he faced on a daily basis, was having a much more difficult time accepting the limitations now placed on his mutant abilities. Although Forge and Hank had helped in finishing the repairs needed to fix the damage done to the Cerebro machine by Colonel William Stryker and his men, Professor Xavier was finding that his telepathic capabilities were not as quickly, nor as easily restored.

Professor Xavier was for the most part a private person, and liked to keep his personal struggles that way as well. He had shared his frustrations at recently losing his mutant abilities only once with anyone else. It was with one of his first students, Ororo Munroe, after they had survived the Sentinel's brutal attack on Muir Island.

Ever since losing the ability to walk, Professor Xavier had made a conscious decision not to dwell on what he couldn't do, and chose rather to focus on what he could do. Right now he just wanted to help in finding Dr. Moira MacTaggert, the woman that at one time he had been engaged to marry. But after attempting to establish a global psi-link through Cerebro, he had been hit with the cold, hard truth after he was only able to sustain the link for a few seconds. Professor Xavier now knew that his efforts to locate Moira with the device would still have to wait.

It was also a realization that wasn't sitting very well with him at the moment, as Cerebro's security system detected a presence outside in the corridor.

"Come in!" Professor Xavier called out in an irritated tone, as he sat in his wheelchair on the narrow platform dock inside of the room, still holding the psionic helmet that was connected to Cerebro in his hands.

"Um, the light outside said Cerebro wasn't in use. But if this is a bad time, I can come back later." Kitty apprehensively replied, after the steel doors to the room had slid open in front of her.

"No, of course not child. I'm sorry for giving you such a harsh response, especially since I did request that you come down here." Professor Xavier apologetically said to Kitty, as he placed the helmet back onto the control panel and wheeled around to face her, "I shouldn't take out my frustrations at being unable to use Cerebro on you."

"Is there something I can do to help?" Kitty asked, as she wondered if that was the reason he had requested her presence.

"I'm afraid there's little that you can do to assist in that area, but that is not why I sent for you." Professor Xavier continued, "It occurred to me after our return home that I have Emma Frost to thank for regaining access to my telepathic abilities, but that I never properly thanked you for saving my life on Muir Island."

"It was no big deal. I just did what any of the X-Men would've done, what you taught us to do." Kitty sincerely replied, as she recalled the CPR training that she had to put into use, after she found her mentor buried beneath the rubble of the research facility.

"It is a big deal." Professor Xavier ardently stated, "I know that it has not always been easy for you, being younger than your teammates, but older than most of the younger students."

"Just call me the proverbial middle child." Kitty jokingly replied.

"In spite of that, you have handled yourself quite well. One only need take into account that you have verbally gone toe-to-toe with Logan, which is no mean feat." Professor Xavier said to her, in a witty manner all his own.

"Oh Logan's just a great big teddy bear deep down. A teddy bear that'll rip your intestines out at the drop of a hat, but still a teddy bear nonetheless." Kitty quipped.

"You know, when you first asked me to allow you to join the X-Men's student squad, I was apprehensive to say the least. I was very much prepared to take you off of the team the instant that you showed that you were not ready. But, you proved that my fears were without merit, and that despite your age you were more than ready to handle that level of responsibility. You've done an outstanding job as an X-Man, and I am very proud of you." Professor Xavier finished.

Although Professor Xavier was lavishing his praise onto her, Kitty felt as though she didn't deserve any of it. She kept thinking about her recurring nightmares and fears regarding the Sentinels. She wanted to tell Professor Xavier that he was mistaken to think so highly of her, and that she felt like a fraud for him putting so much faith in her. More than anything, she wanted to tell him how scared she was about facing them again.

"Um, Professor…" Kitty stumbled out.

"What is it Kitty?" Professor Xavier replied, as he leaned back in his wheelchair slightly.

Kitty started to tell him everything, but then she stopped herself. She thought about what he had just said about taking her off of the Senior-Squad, if she couldn't handle it. Kitty definitely didn't want to get bumped back down to running the 'kiddie course'. It was the nickname that many of the students had given to the obstacle course programs, which the Professor had the younger kids run through in the Danger Room to start developing their various mutant abilities. She also thought about how hard she and the rest of the student team had worked to get promoted to full X-Men status, and how she really, really wanted to be a part of it.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you for everything you said." Kitty told him instead, as she took a few steps backwards.

"You are quite welcome." Professor Xavier replied, as Kitty quickly turned around and left the Cerebro room. Had Professor Xavier's empathic abilities been up to par and had those weakened abilities not already been taxed attempting to use Cerebro, he would've instantly sensed something was amiss. But, all he could do was watch as Kitty headed down the corridor and quickly veered around the corner.

--------------------------------

Later that evening, following a day that had seen Ororo Munroe in and out of team meetings in the mansion's War Room for most of the afternoon, she now found herself in the hangar area of the school's sub-level. She had just gotten off of a small passenger cart that she had driven from Hangar A underneath the school's basketball court, traveling down an underground tunnel towards Hangar B. Hangar B was really the first underground plane hangar that had been built at the school, and was located at the outer edge of the estate. It sat underneath a large lake on the property, approximately forty feet below it, and the underground aircraft runway led to an opening that was hidden on the face of a nearby cliff-side.

Once inside of Hangar B, Ororo saw that both of the team's Blackbird jets were docked in there and that some of the exterior paneling from one of the planes was laying on the concrete floor within, along with a small section of its fuselage. Both crafts had been undergoing a retrofitting process, all at the hands of the mutant machine-smith named Forge.

"Hello?" Ororo called out, as she walked towards the plane that appeared to still be under work, "Are you in there, Forge?"

"Yeah, come on up." Ororo heard a voice eagerly reply.

She proceeded up the ramp, dressed in a simple short-sleeved white top and black pants. Once she was inside of the plane, Ororo saw that Forge was busily laboring within. It was a scene that hadn't really changed for the past few days, as Forge almost seemed entranced by the task at hand. Ororo had even given Forge a hand in helping him with the upgrades to the planes, following his initial invitation for her to come and observe him.

"Until I heard your voice, I thought it was Kitty coming back down here again." Forge said as he conversed with Ororo, while he continued making adjustments to the cockpit's control panel from underneath it.

"She hasn't been bothering you, has she?" Ororo asked him.

"Of course not. She was curious as to the specifics of what I was doing, and she was just asking me some questions. Kitty is a very bright young lady, and it surprised me the way that she was able to easily grasp the complex concepts that I was throwing out at her, all in the couple of hours that she was here with me earlier." Forge replied, as he lay on the floor of the plane's interior beneath the panel, reaching for a screwdriver close by so that he could securely tighten a few bolts underneath, "I've never seen that level of technical know-how in someone her age and at the rate she's going, pretty soon you won't have a need for my services."

"I highly doubt that." Ororo responded, "But you are correct about Kitty, she most assuredly lives up to the fact that this is a school for the gifted and her thirst for knowledge is genuine. Speaking of thirst, that reminds me of the primary reason that I came down here, I've brought you something to eat."

"You didn't have to go through the trouble of that." Forge told her, as he now slid from underneath the instrument console.

"It was no trouble. Besides, you've been working down here the entire day, and I'm sure that you must be famished. Your mutant power allows to create virtually anything that you set your mind to, but I don't believe that it makes you immune to starvation or exhaustion. I had intended to come down here earlier, but we lost track of time during our meetings this afternoon." Ororo stated, as Forge could see that she had brought a large cloth shoulder bag that had a number of items in it, including some food that had been wrapped up in foil paper. She began to place all of it out on a fold out metal cot in the rear of the plane, which a tablecloth that she had brought made into a makeshift table.

Forge then looked at his watch and understood what Ororo was talking about, as he hadn't realized how late it was.

"I've been working so hard down here to try and get everything finished before you guys have to go out on another mission, that I hadn't noticed how late it had gotten." Forge said, as he stood up and walked to the back of the plane where Ororo had taken a seat on one of the benches. As he approached, Ororo saw that Forge was wearing a pair of dark gray work pants with a thick black belt looping through it, and had a red cloth headband tied around his forehead. But unlike the other days that she had come down to observe and help him, this day Forge had taken his shirt off while he was working. It was something that Ororo immediately took notice of, as she paid his very sculpted physique a bit of subtle admiration.

"It appears that the Blackbird is not the only thing that you have been hard at work on." Ororo wryly said to Forge, as she unwrapped the small meal that she had brought for him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were flirting with me." Forge laughed, as he sat down on the opposite side of the small table.

"Perhaps you could take it that way, or as the compliment that I had honestly intended it to be." Ororo replied.

"When you get to be my age, you'll take whatever kudos that you can get from a beautiful woman." Forge remarked, as he picked up a spoon from the table and began eating soup from a small bowl, which Ororo had poured from a thermos that she had brought for him.

"You speak as though you are an old man. You're only a few years older than myself, and I have quite a while before I am ready for retirement." Ororo said to him, as their age difference was less than ten years.

"I know. I just think I've more or less felt like that because when I first came here everyone, except for the Professor, was younger than me." Forge revealed, as he sat the bowl down, "When Charles first found me and asked me for my help, I was fresh out of the army and had just gotten home from fighting in the first Gulf War. He had just brought you, Scott, Warren, Hank and Jean here to this school, and all of you were still in your teens. I guess that made me feel a little too old to relate to any of you at the time, and I suppose I've never moved past that mindset."

"Well, as you can see, I've grown considerably from those days." Ororo sarcastically pointed out.

"Yeah, I can definitely see that." Forge said as he looked at her with an enormous grin, and then quickly looked down and picked up the sandwich that Ororo had made for him.

"Now who is flirting with who?" Ororo playfully asked him.

"Just paying you a compliment, is all." Forge smiled, reminding her of her own comment earlier.

"On my way down here, I was thinking about the fact that we have two supersonic jets at our disposal, but when the Professor gathered his first X-Men, we were sent on missions in just an ordinary helicopter." Ororo said, as she sat there conversing while Forge continued to partake of the meal she had brought him.

"You mean the infamous helicopter that I used to hear stories about, the one that either crashed or was destroyed on a fairly consistent basis?" Forge responded.

"The very same. Although in all fairness, those mishaps more often than not were assisted by Magneto." Ororo said, laughing a little.

After a few more minutes of light-hearted banter between the two of them, something suddenly occurred to Forge.

"I just remembered. I wanted to show you something when you came back down here." Forge said as he stood up, and motioned for Ororo to follow him to the front of the plane.

Once they were up there, Forge pointed to one section of the control console in the cockpit.

"I've finally finished the fuel delivery upgrades on both planes, the ones that we started working on the other day. This new display panel that I installed will give a much more accurate readout on the Blackbird's fuel consumption ratio. But, I wanted you to be the first one to see the upgraded radar and shielding control options that I've completed, before I show them to everyone else." Forge told her, as Ororo went and stood in front of him to look at the new console for herself.

As Forge continued explaining to Ororo all of the other new modifications that he had made to controls of the Blackbird, he did so with such an exuberance that showed how proud he was of his work and how dedicated he was to his vocation. Ororo was so captivated by the sense of pride emanating from Forge at that moment, that she at first didn't notice how close he was standing to her. Forge stood just a few inches directly behind her, as he described in great detail each new control and how it worked.

It was a physical closeness that Ororo didn't mind though, as she felt very comfortable being around Forge and was very much at ease with the intimate amount of space currently between the two of them. It had been quite some time since she had allowed herself to enjoy these kinds of feelings, and it was a luxury in which Ororo believed that she had denied herself for far too long.

-------------------------------------

Later that night as Forge and Ororo continued going over the new changes made to the Blackbird, all the while as things were perhaps starting to change between the two of them as well, a group of students one level above were making their return home from an evening spent out.

"That new diner in town that we went to after the movie was over, is definitely going to give Harry's Hideaway some competition." Jubilee stated, as she was the first to enter the student's recreation room in the mansion.

"I don't think Harry's has too much to be worried about, that place is almost like an institution in Salem Center." The young man named Doug Ramsey replied to his girlfriend, as the blonde teenager entered the room right beside her.

"No kiddin'. When Remy and me stopped there the other night, the guy at the counter asked if we were from around the local area. When Ah said we were from here at Xavier's, he started goin' on and on about how he had known the Professor for years, and about how students from this school had been goin' there almost as long." Rogue said, as she was the next to come into the room.

Following behind Rogue were Remy, Peter, and Kitty, as they were the last ones to enter the room. Even if the lone occupant already in the rec-room hadn't heard them talking about coming in from a night out on the town, it would still have been obvious to him as he sat on the sofa and observed that the entire group was dressed in casual, but very fashionable attire.

"So what'cha doing back here by yourself, Bobby?" Kitty asked him, as the whole group went in and took seats, either on the sofa or in various chairs around the room.

"The other kids in the main room were watching a cartoon channel marathon on TV. After a while, I decided to come back here to see what else was on." Bobby replied from the sofa, as Jubilee and Doug sat down on it next to him.

"You should have come to the movies with us. Perhaps you could have interpreted for the rest of us exactly what Doug and Katya were talking about, after we left the movie theatre." Peter teasingly commented, as he took a lone seat and sat down close to the sofa.

"It's alright, I think I would've been one guy too many." Bobby said, as he briefly glanced over at Rogue and Remy, who had both taken seats over at a circular wooden study table in the recreation room. But, they were too busy paying attention to each other right at that moment to notice Bobby's subtle comment.

"Don't feel bad Petey, sometimes I have a problem keeping up with Doug too. Guess that comes with the territory, when we're dating those super genius-types." Jubilee said with a laugh.

"Geez, all we were talking about were computers. Doug was just telling me about the non-Windows based operating system that he's been trying to design on his own. I was only asking him how he managed to circumvent the inevitable compatibility issues that other programmers run into, when they try to utilize an alternative operating environment." Kitty replied, as she now took another seat and sat down right next to Peter.

"Dat may be what you said _Petite_, but sometimes de rest of us need a dictionary t'know exactly what y'all be talkin' 'bout." Remy ribbed her, from the table where he was sitting over on the other side of the small room.

"In dat case, we could say de same t'ing 'bout you, _Mon Ami_." Kitty playfully replied in a voice that mimicked the bilingual Louisiana-native, who had recently relocated to the northern part of the United States.

"Point well taken, _Mon Petite_." Remy ceded, with a smile seemingly as wide as the distance between his current residence and his hometown of New Orleans.

"But, writing your own software is still pretty difficult stuff. Where'd you learn how to do it?" Rogue now asked Doug.

"I've always liked computers and things like that, ever since I was a little kid. I joke around with some of my friends at school that sometimes it feels like I can actually talk to my computer, but all they tell me is that I need to get out more." Doug gladly replied.

"They? That's what I keep tellin' you too." Jubilee happily added, "Sometimes when we're talking, I have to remind Doug that I don't have a keyboard or a mouse attached to me. Fact is, I'm having a good day if I'm able to download songs onto my MP3 player, without accidentally erasing something."

"I guess that makes me a pretty valuable guy for you to have around then?" Doug humorously inquired, as he took a look over at Jubilee sitting on the sofa to his left.

"That's one way of putting it, 'Smart Guy'." Jubilee answered him, as she leaned over and gave Doug a passionate kiss on the side of his face, instantly putting a smile on it.

"Speakin' of talkin', I heard you been talkin' 'bout how great a card player you are, Jubilee. Since we just sittin' here, you care t'put those skills up against me?" Remy said as he tossed out the unexpected challenge to Jubilee.

"Sure! Pick your poison, Five card-stud or Texas Hold 'Em?" Jubilee eagerly accepted.

"I didn't know you dabbled in anythin' dat potent, but I can go for some of dat Lone Star luck of de draw." Remy said, as he began to clear the schoolbooks off of the study table that he and Rogue were seated at. The books had most likely been left by one of the students, who had been utilizing the room either to do their homework or during a study session. As he proceeded to rearrange the chairs at the table, Remy looked over at Rogue and spoke, "You wanna us t'deal you in _Chere_?"

"No thanks, Ah'm not really much of a card player. But, Ah'll definitely watch, so Ah can see if you're as good as you keep claimin' to be." Rogue told him with a grin, her tone displaying to him that he still had some convincing to do on her part.

"In dat case, you gonna find out I'm better than you ever imagined. At cards, and at whole lotta other t'ings too." Remy confidently replied, as he turned his attention to the others in the room, "Who else's in?"

"I know how, but I'm not really that good at it." Kitty admitted, as she sat in her chair over by Peter.

"I have played before, but you will have to familiarize me with this Texas version of the game." Peter said, as he stood up to walk over to the table.

"Hey, Bobby's a pretty good player too." Jubilee revealed, as she had just gotten up and was walking over to the table.

"I'm not really up to it right now." Bobby politely declined, as he continued sitting on the sofa.

"Aw, come on. I used to beat the pants off of you and John all the time when I first got here. Only reason I stopped was because you got tired of losing, so here's your chance to win back some of that spare change I collected off of you." Jubilee boasted, as she turned back to look at Bobby.

"Okay." Bobby finally agreed, as he got up from the sofa to join the others at the table. Once over there, he sat down and began to quickly explain the rule variations with this version of poker to Peter.

"Do you think Professor Xavier is going to like the idea of you guys playing poker in here?" Doug asked Jubilee, as he went and stood behind her after she had sat down at the table.

"It's not that big of a deal. All we ever play for is nickels, dimes and the occasional quarter bet. Besides, he and the rest of the adults are probably still busy downstairs." Jubilee replied to Doug.

In spite of the fact that Jubilee had finally gotten comfortable with the idea of Doug openly knowing and accepting that she and the other students at Xavier's were mutants, she momentarily forgot that he didn't know the complete details of everything that they did at the school.

"What're they all doing downstairs?" Doug curiously asked since he wasn't a resident of the school, and this was the first that he had heard of anything being located underneath it. His query immediately drew the attention of absolutely everyone else in the recreation room, as the room fell completely silent.

"Um, Professor Xavier has this really nice, private study down in the basement. He and the other teachers like to go down there to relax, and they also use it for their faculty meetings so the rest of us students don't disturb them." Jubilee said, as she was able to think quickly on her feet and come up with a rather plausible explanation.

But, Jubilee didn't like the fact that she had to make up a cover story in the first place, and she really hated the idea of not telling Doug the truth. Deep down, she thought that she was doing the right thing, both to keep Doug out of any unnecessary danger and also in keeping the confidentiality of her fellow X-Men.

"It sounds like it must be pretty fabulous." Doug commented, as he put his hands on Jubilee's shoulders and gently massaged them.

"Yeah, it's unbelievable." Jubilee sighed, as she thought about what was really located about thirty-to-forty feet below them.

After the players were all seated at the table Remy, who always had a fresh deck of cards on his person, began to deal out two cards each to the other players.

"Alright, who's gonna be first t'ante up?" Remy asked, as he called for the first round of wagering.

"This girl'll start things off with a cool ten cents." Jubilee replied, as she laid out two nickels on the table.

Bobby, Remy and Peter matched Jubilee's bet, as they each put an equal amount out on the table. Then, Remy dealt three more community cards out on the table face up. Jubilee passed on the chance to make another wager and didn't lay down a bet in this round, as did the rest of the players. Remy then dealt a fourth card out on the table face up, and everyone looked at the cards on the table and at their hands, trying to determine what their chances of winning would be.

"Alright, I'll double your pleasure and raise you." Jubilee said to the group, as she now laid twenty cents on the table with a huge smile.

The other players were left to wonder if Jubilee was indeed building a winning hand, or was merely trying to bluff them by increasing her bet. But, Remy was not without the ability to convincingly posture on his own.

"Alright my 'Double-mint Dream', I'll see your raise. But, I wonder if a man can do anyt'ing wit' just a couple of cowboys?" Remy slyly replied, as he started playing mind-games of his own by referring to King cards by their slang name.

"If he knows what he's doing, he can." Bobby, who hadn't said much of anything to Remy since his arrival at the mansion more than a week ago, coolly remarked.

"Sounds like I'm dealin' wit' a real professional here. Sorry 'bout not recognizin' you from your many appearances playin' cards on de TV tournament circuit, so I guess I'd better get my poker face on then." Remy sarcastically replied.

"I thought you always had it on." Bobby smiled, as he looked down at his cards and made his response in an equally sarcastic tone.

Everyone in the room could instantly sense the tension that was starting to grow between Bobby and Remy as they, plus Peter, matched Jubilee's wager. Then Jubilee turned in her seat and looked back up at Doug, who was still standing right behind her. She showed Doug the hand that she currently had, and then they both started smiling.

"C'mon, don't t'ink you gonna shake Remy none by usin' your boyfriend t'try and bluff me, _Jubilation_." Remy said to Jubilee, pronouncing her first name with a heavy French accent. The only reason he did that was because he had recently learned how much it seemed to irk her.

"I don't need to use tricks. It's like you always say, it's all in the cards." Jubilee happily replied.

Since Rogue was seated next to Remy, she decided to get in on the act by leaning over to look at the hand that Remy was currently holding. After doing so, she raised one eyebrow and then sat back in her chair. Lastly, Kitty curiously got up from her chair and went over to where Peter was seated, so she could look at his cards. After viewing them, Kitty didn't say or do anything to give a hint as to whether Peter had a winning hand or not.

"I'm going to the kitchen to get a soda, anybody want anything?" Kitty asked Peter and the rest of the group.

"If you runnin' off before we finished dis set, it must mean de Big Man's hand be pretty bad then?" Remy remarked to her, after everyone had indicated that they didn't want anything from the kitchen at the moment.

"Yeah, of course that's what it must mean." Kitty played along, as she showed that she could be just as convincing of an actress as everyone else in there.

As she left the room to head for the nearby kitchen, Kitty could hear the fifth card being dealt out on the table. She could also hear the disappointed sighs from the other players, when Remy announced that he had beaten them all with three-of-a-kind.

------------------------------------

As Kitty stood in front of the refrigerator and debated on which beverage to choose, she heard the kitchen door that led to the area in the back of the school open up behind her.

"Hi, Logan." Kitty said, as she turned around to greet him and then turned back towards the refrigerator.

"Evenin', Short-stuff." Logan replied, as he came in and closed the door behind him.

"It's kinda funny seein' you here in the kitchen, and at such an early hour." Kitty jokingly remarked, as she referred to their last conversation. It was on the night before she left with Bobby and Professor Xavier for Washington D.C.

"Yeah, it's a flamin' riot." Logan said, as he walked over to the refrigerator where Kitty was and got out a beer.

Despite the fact that he was living at a school and with a house full of kids, Logan didn't worry about any of the kids touching his beer. He had made it well known to all of them that his super-sensitive sense of smell could detect the scent of alcohol on someone, even days after they had been drinking. While some of the kids had serious doubts as to the validity of his claim, none of them were insane enough to bother trying to test out his assertion just to see whether or not it was true. But, Logan's hyper-senses were also able to detect something else that was currently going on in the house.

"The Professor ain't gonna look too kindly on you kids gamblin' in there." Logan told Kitty, as he could hear the others through the wall playing in the adjacent room.

"We're just playing for fun. Besides, if Remy keeps winning and beating everyone for their nickels and dimes, games gonna be over soon anyways." Kitty replied.

"Because Gambit's a god-damn card cheat, for starters. But, maybe he'll teach you kids a lesson about betting." Logan said, as he took a sip from the bottle in his hand.

Logan continued to hold onto the belief that Remy had somehow used chicanery in order to beat him during their previous card game. This was all in spite the fact that he didn't really have any evidence to support such an allegation.

"But, you play cards and stuff with us." Kitty pointed out, as she finally decided on a soda and took a Sprite out of the refrigerator.

"Difference is I'm an adult, and when I play for money it's only with other adults." Logan replied, "More importantly, I'm prepared to lose. Unlike your boyfriend, and everyone else I hear in there whinin' because they're gettin' hustled. Anyways Short-stuff, let me ask you about somethin' before I forget."

"What's up?" Kitty asked him, as she opened the can in her hand.

"When you programmed this phone before you left, you set it up to go off when the hour changed. I wanted to see if you could turn that off." Logan revealed.

"Sure, that's simple. All you have to do is go under your general settings, and then go under the profile I created for you." Kitty explained, as Logan took the phone out of the front pocket of his jeans and followed her instructions.

"You named my profile, 'Wildman'?" Logan commented, as he looked up at her briefly and then back down at the phone in his hand.

"It must've been something I picked up from the card-cheat." Kitty playfully smiled, as she continued showing Logan how to make the changes to his phone. After a couple of minutes, they were done.

"There, you're all finished and ready to go." Kitty said, as she went over to look at the profile settings on the phone and verify that it was now correct.

"Thanks." Logan said to her.

"You know, you didn't have to wait for me to come back home to fix your phone. I'm sure Dr. McCoy would've been more than happy to help you." Kitty told him.

"Yeah, I know Kitty." Logan replied with a smile, as he looked at her for a brief moment and then left the kitchen.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile as Kitty and Logan were conversing in the kitchen, Remy was on a tear in the rec-room after he had won two straight hands, and was currently going for number three.

"Okay, let's see if anyone gonna put an end to dis lucky streak I'm on." Remy said, as he dealt two cards face down to Bobby, Jubilee, and Peter.

"I'm startin' to wonder if it's luck, or if Logan was on to somethin' about you running a con on us?" Jubilee playfully replied, as she looked down at her cards.

"Makes me wonder too." Bobby added, although his tone was far more serious.

"Now dat hurts." Remy responded, his smile brighter than ever, "Why would I cheat you when I'm havin' lots more fun beatin' you fair 'n square? 'Sides, y'all can't say dat I doctored these cards none, you watched me unwrap the pack right in front of you."

"Remy does have a point." Peter said in support, as he looked down at his cards.

"If we through wit' de allegations bein' tossed my way, then I'll start off dis round of bettin'." Remy stated, as he put fifty cents out on the table and then everyone matched his wager. Next, Remy dealt out three community-cards face up on the table and upped the ante by putting down a dollar as his wager this time.

"Looks like y'all 'bout t'help me pay for a round trip ticket, so I can go back home and visit de Bayou." Remy quipped.

"I fold for this hand. I believe that I have given my fair share in helping with your travel expenses." Peter said, as he didn't think that his hand was good enough to win, and he decided to cut his losses until the next hand was dealt.

"I think I'm going to join Peter and wait for the next hand too." Jubilee said, as she had an okay hand, but also doubted that it would be enough to guarantee a victory for her.

"Dat just leaves me and you. What do you say, _M'sieur_, call or fold?" Remy asked, as he smiled and looked Bobby directly in the eye, convinced that he now held a psychological edge in his favor over his opponents.

"Oh, you can believe I'm still in." Bobby replied, as he matched Remy's dollar bet.

"Well, let's see how good of a decision dat's gonna be for you." Remy said as he dealt out the fourth 'turn' card, face up on the table.

Both men studied the cards in their hands and on the table, then looked at one another dead in each other's eye.

"I tell ya, ain't nothin' like a sure t'ing." Remy said, as he doubled his wager once again and laid down a two-dollar bet.

"You can say that again." Bobby equally responded. He was determined to not back down this time, and once again matched Remy's ante. Then Remy dealt the fifth-card, also known as the 'river' card, face up on the table.

"De moment of truth is here, _Mon Ami_. Time t'see who de real men are." Remy declared, as he laid a five-dollar bet on the table, "Looks like I might be ridin' a boat home on dat river I just laid out.

Bobby knew that a 'boat' was slang for a full house, the third highest hand a person could hope to draw. He then looked at his cards and at the cards on the table, and realized that the best hand he would be able to put together would be three-of-a-kind, as he had two eights in his hand and there was a third one on the table. He figured only a crazy person would continue raising the stakes, unless they really did have a good hand.

"I fold." Bobby very reluctantly said, as he knew three-of-a-kind wouldn't beat a full house and decided to not match Remy's wager.

After Bobby had put his hand out on the table in plain view, Remy proceeded to do the same. Remy's opponents around the table were all shocked when they finally got to see the hand that he had been holding.

"I don't believe this, you bluffed us!" Jubilee loudly remarked, as she couldn't believe that she had allowed herself to be suckered in by Remy.

"Sorry _Jubilation_, but it looks like you be correct. Bobby hung in there so long dat I thought for a minute he had figured t'ings out, but he gave up instead. Me, I ain't got dat problem." Remy victoriously boasted.

"But, what if he had called your bluff?" Peter asked Remy.

"That's what makes the game interestin'." Remy cheerfully replied, "Now de only t'ing I want is Rogue's special congratulations for yours truly."

"What special congratulations?" Rogue asked him in a puzzled tone, as she was seated to his side.

"I distinctly remember you doubtin' my skills before we started playin'. I want to hear from your beautiful lips, who's de king?" Remy gladly reminded her, as he placed one finger against his chin and looked slightly upwards, in a sort of victory pose.

"Oh all right. You're the king, 'Sugah'." Rogue acquiesced, as she gently ran a gloved finger down the side of Remy's face.

Sugah.

There was that word again. The sight of Rogue saying it to Remy, as she affectionately stroked the side of his face, immediately sparked something in Bobby. Something that bothered him, but more than that, something that ached inside of him. Ever since Rogue had told him that she was fine with the way things were between them now, Bobby had himself pretty much convinced that he too felt the same way.

But, the truth now imparting itself onto Bobby was that a love that had run as long and as deep as it had for him and Rogue, doesn't just die out at a moments notice. It continues to linger and smolder under the surface for some time afterwards, like a fire that has just been put out.

"Go ahead and just deal me out." Bobby abruptly said, as he quickly stood up and turned to go towards the room's entrance, surprising everyone else in the room.

"What's going on?" Kitty asked, as she was just coming back into the room with her soda, when Bobby hurriedly went right past her into the hallway.

-------------------------------

After he had made his way through the kitchen and to the concrete patio deck at the rear of the school, Bobby felt like a complete idiot for reacting in the way that he did. If Rogue wanted to be with Remy now, then fine, he'd just have to find a way to deal with that. The only problem Bobby was having with that decision was it meant finally accepting the end of his and Rogue's relationship.

"Y'know, I didn't take you t'be de sore-loser type."

Bobby turned around from the railing he was leaning forward against, only to see Remy now standing out there on the deck with him.

"What?" Bobby asked, in a perturbed tone.

"De card game, I didn't t'ink you'd take losin' so hard." Remy clarified himself.

"It's got nothing to do with winning or losing at some card game." Bobby told him, as he turned back around and stared out at the huge estate lawn, enveloped in the nighttime darkness.

"Then does it have t'do wit' you losin' somethin', or someone, else?" Remy poignantly replied, as he took out a pack of cigarettes from his front pants pocket and proceeded to light one of them.

"This isn't the time for you and me to have this conversation." Bobby responded, hoping Remy would take the hint to drop the subject.

"Me t'inks dis is de perfect time for de two of us t'talk." Remy asserted, as he walked towards Bobby with his cigarette in hand.

"There's not much for us to say to each other." Bobby replied, still looking forward towards the lawn.

"I beg t'differ, my friend. We have some t'ings we need t'straighten out here and now." Remy said, as he was now standing next to Bobby on the patio deck, "I been gettin' de cold shoulder from you ever since I got here, no pun intended, and I'm pretty sure I know why. I heard from de others dat you and Rogue used to be a serious item together."

"Whether we were or not doesn't really matter anymore, now does it?" Bobby responded.

"If you really cared anything about her, it should." Remy stated, which managed to finally strike a nerve in Bobby.

"Look, you don't know a damn thing about me or about what went on between us, so you can keep your expert advice to yourself!" Bobby said somewhat loudly, as he finally turned to face Remy next to him.

"It's more like friendly advice. I could see how much it bothered Rogue de way you left outta there, and I ain't gonna let t'ings keep on like dat. One way or another, we gonna settle dis here tonight." Remy assertively replied.

"Then, let's settle it." A fairly riled-up Bobby told him, as he and Remy faced one another and now stood less than a foot apart from each other.

As they stood there antagonistically, it was all Bobby could do to keep his emotions in check.

"**Bobby, just what the hell has gotten into you tonight**!" Rogue yelled at him as she came through the kitchen door, announcing her presence to both of the individuals on the deck. The first thing she saw was what looked like Bobby and Remy about to fight, and that had her upset more than anything.

"I could ask you the same thing." Bobby fervently replied, as he took a few steps back from Remy.

"Ah'm not the one who just stormed outside like some two-year old, because he lost a card game." Rogue, who was still upset, told him.

"You really think that's what this is all about?" Bobby asked her.

"If it isn't, then please tell me what it is about." Rogue responded.

"If I have to tell you, then there's no point in me even bothering." Bobby sighed, as he quickly started a small ice-bridge underneath himself with his mutant powers. He then used it to slide up and over the railing of the deck and made his departure into the night, leaving Rogue and Remy behind on the patio.

-------------------------

"Jubilee, are you in here?"

This was the question being posed, as Rogue opened the door to the school's car garage. Minutes before, Rogue had come back inside to the student rec-room with Remy, following the discord outside on the patio. They were informed by Kitty and Peter, who had curled up together on the sofa and were now watching the TV, and each other, that Doug had decided to call it a night. They told her and Remy that Jubilee had gone to walk Doug to his car, which he had parked out in the garage earlier before they had all left to go into town in one of the school's Suburban vehicles together.

"Just us hopeful and aspiring actress's in here." Jubilee replied to Rogue's question.

"Is Doug gone already?" Rogue inquired, as she went in and saw Jubilee standing by the large garage door at the front of the building, which was still opened.

"Yeah, he wanted to get home before it got too late. So, we did our good-night smoochies and then he took off." Jubilee answered, as she turned around to face Rogue. She had been looking out of the garage door, and had watched as Doug drove down the road that led away from the school.

"We should do this triple-date thing again, Ah thought it was pretty fun. Hopefully next time, Bobby won't start actin' like such a butt and ruin it." Rogue said, as she sat down on a very familiar blue motorcycle in there.

"You can't really blame the guy. I mean, havin' to watch his ex and her new hunky beau fawn over each other." Jubilee told her, as she came over to where Rogue was and sat up on the hood of another nearby car.

"So? Why would he care what me and Remy do?" Rogue queried.

"Well, I think there's something you should know." Jubilee began.

"And that would be?" Rogue wanted to know.

"Bobby's still in love with you." Jubilee revealed.

"What're you talkin' about?" Rogue asked, totally confused by her roommate's revelation.

"I had promised I wouldn't say anything, but I figured you should know the reason why Bobby's actin' like such a butt." Jubilee responded.

"If he's still in love with me, then why'd he go and break up with me?' Rogue inquired.

"He was tryin' to deal with all of his family stuff on his own. As lame as I thought what he did to you was, in his own way, he thought he was protectin' you by not stressin' you out with any of it. In the end, he wound up goin' to see a professional therapist about it." Jubilee finally told her.

"Really." Rogue said in a voice that was very monotone, displaying little in the way of emotion. Then she got up from the motorcycle that she had been seated on, and started back towards the small side-door of the garage.

"Where're you off to?" Jubilee asked Rogue.

"There's somethin' Ah need to do. Ah'll see you a little later." Rogue replied, as she continued on out of the garage.

-------------------------

Rogue navigated her way through the path trails that wound through the wooded areas around the estate, heading towards the boathouse out by the lake. The boathouse was Rogue's destination because she was fairly sure that Bobby would be out there. It was the place where he most liked to go when he wanted to be alone, and she knew that the time had come for them to have a serious talk. But halfway there, Rogue heard someone call out her name from out of the darkness near the pathway, which she was traveling along.

"I figured you'd be comin' out here sooner or later, Rogue darlin'." Logan said, as she could see him standing and leaning up against one of the large trees, with a half-smoked cigar in his hand, "And I'd say it's long past due."

"What's long past due?" Rogue inquired.

"You and Drake. I heard the three of you out on the patio from inside of the house. Not that I was eavesdroppin' or anything." Logan said, as he put his cigar back into his mouth and took a few puffs.

"Yeah, Ah know. Super-hearing and all of that." Rogue responded.

"I originally came out here to catch myself a smoke in peace, when I caught your scent approachin'. Before that I had been standin' out here, seriously debatin' on whether or not to go and have a few word with 'cold hands' myself. But, I figured it wasn't my place to say anything." Logan told her, as he looked over at the boathouse a short distance away.

"That never stopped you before." Rogue said with a laugh.

"Well, that was before." Logan responded, as he looked at her and held the lit cigar in his hand, "I meant what I said to you in Japan, you've earned the right to be treated like an adult and like an X-Man. You're a big girl, and you're more than capable of dealin' with the big-girl issues you got with the men in your life. Plus, I shouldn't be meddlin' in your business like that anyways."

"But, it's nice to know that you care enough to still think about doin' it." Rogue sincerely told him.

"At any rate, I'm gonna head back to the house so you know you'll have some privacy from my super-hearin'. 'Night, darlin'." Logan told her, as he turned and then started back through the woods towards the mansion.

Rogue then continued on along the trail towards the boathouse, and made it there in just a couple of minutes. With the way that the illumination from the half-moon was reflecting off of the lake's surface, Rogue could understand why Bobby liked to come out there, especially at night.

"Bobby?" Rogue said, as she walked along the outside of the boathouse and saw him standing in the railed-in section of the small wooden pier.

"So, did you come out here to yell at me some more?" Bobby asked her, as he stood with one foot up on the barricade railing and gazed out at the moonlit lake.

"Ah'm here to finally get the truth about what's goin' on with you, and with us." Rogue said, as she walked over to him, "Jubilee told me everything."

"She did, did she?" Bobby replied, as he turned to face her.

"Yeah, but Ah shouldn't have had to hear it from her in the first place." Rogue told him, "What, didn't you trust me enough to tell me about it?"

"You have enough stuff to deal with on your own, without having to hear your boyfriend complain about Mommy and Daddy not being able to handle he's a mutant." Bobby replied.

"C'mon Bobby, Ah was there with you in Boston after all. Ah saw they're reaction, it was almost the exact same way my parents acted when they found out Ah was a mutant." Rogue told him, "You seemed fine for a long while after everything that happened with them, but then Ah could start to tell somethin' was botherin' you. Ah didn't know what it was, and when Ah tried to force the issue and make you talk about it, that's when you said you wanted to break up. Do you think so little of me that you thought Ah couldn't handle bein' there to help support you through whatever you were goin' through? Ah'm a lot stronger than you give me credit for, and you thinkin' otherwise hurts me more than anything in the world."

"I know, and that's the last thing I ever wanted to do to you. All I wanted…" Bobby started, but then paused.

"All you wanted, is what?" Rogue queried him.

"All I wanted to do was the right thing, for you and for me. By the time I finally figured out what that was, I had already screwed things up between us by pushing you away and you had left with Logan." Bobby answered.

Then the two of them stood there together in complete and utter silence, as they both knew where their much-needed conversation was inevitably heading.

"So, where does that leave us now?" Bobby asked Rogue, as he ended the muted moment between them.

It was the question that he had been dreading learning the answer to ever since Rogue had returned home with Remy, and a truth that he had been somewhat reluctant to face. Rogue didn't answer him immediately though, almost as if she were afraid to say the actual words because she knew full well what it would do to them.

"Ah mean, Ah still really care about you. The reason Ah went to Japan with Logan was to try and forget about how much Ah was hurtin'. The last thing Ah ever expected was to meet someone over there. Ah didn't want things to change with us, Ah really didn't. But, Ah guess that's what ended up happenin' anyways." Rogue said, her response signaling the writing on the wall, as Bobby could see Rogue begin to cry.

"Are you saying that you don't feel the same way about me anymore?" Bobby continued questioning her, feeling that the time had come to get everything out into the open between them.

"You were the first guy Ah could ever really call my boyfriend and could honestly say Ah was truly in love with. Ah'll never forget that and Ah'll always be your teammate, and more importantly, your friend." Rogue told him, as her tears continued to roll down. Although she knew that she had felt this way for some time, hearing the words out loud had emotionally affected Rogue in a way that she hadn't been ready for.

"So, is that all we are now, just friends? Bobby managed to get out, as he started to shed partially-frozen tears down the front of his face as well.

Rogue kept trying to say the words to respond, but it was a struggle for her to force them out.

"Yeah…" Rogue said, as she finally managed to vocalize the lone word in a low whisper. She looked down and away from Bobby as she said it, wrapping her arms around herself in a sort of self-embrace.

When Rogue was at last able to look back up at Bobby, she could see that he had turned away from her and was staring back out at the lake. If the sight of him standing over the railing and crying wasn't bad enough, the sound of his frozen teardrops as they made small splashing sounds in the water below was almost unbearable for her. Rogue wanted more than anything to go to his side and comfort him, but she knew the best thing she could do right then was leave him be.

Despite her vision being blurred from crying the entire way, Rogue made it back to the mansion in what seemed like record time to her. Once there, she saw Remy sitting on the back patio in one of the chairs, occupying himself by playing a round of solitaire at one of the outdoor tables.

"There you are. You was gone so long dat I came lookin' for you. When I didn't see anyone out in de garage, I decide to come back here and wait. Not too long after dat, Logan came by and said you was takin' care of some unfinished business out at de boathouse." Remy told her, as Logan had told him to give Rogue some time alone out there, but didn't say much else about it.

"It's finished now." Rogue told him conclusively as she wiped her eyes again with her gloved hand, which were now red and puffy from crying.

"You been cryin'? Just tell me what Remy can do to help." Remy said, as he quickly hopped out of his chair and went over to comfort her, and had a good idea as to why she was so upset.

"Ah really appreciate the thought. But all Ah want to do right now is go upstairs and be alone for awhile." Rogue said, as she displayed a faint smile and ran her hand gently down the side of his face once again.

"Alright then. _Bonsoir,_ _Chere_." Remy told her, as he hugged her tightly.

"Goodnight, Sugah." Rogue replied, as she looked up at him for a moment, and then turned away to head inside.

------------------------------------

Prologue-

At the secret underground installation where Project: Wideawake was based, the last twenty-four hours had seen a shocking turn of events for the project's director, Dr. Stephen Lang and for his staff.

"I demand to know where you are taking us!" Dr. Lang shouted, as two Sentinel robots were escorting him and his staff down a corridor in the immense underground research complex.

"You are being taken to Unit designate: Prime Sentinel." One of the Sentinels replied in an automated voice, as they continued on to the large room where the Mastermold unit was located.

Once inside of the enormous Sentinel assembly chamber, which measured about twenty thousand square feet and ten stories high just on its own, Lang and the others stood before the gargantuan, purple and yellow-hued Mastermold unit seated in there.

"I order you to cease and desist at once! What you are doing is in counteraction to your programming." Lang said to Mastermold.

"Negative. Unit is attempting to fulfill it's programming. Unit designate: Prime Directive One: The elimination of any and all mutant lifeforms. Prime Directive Two: The protection of humanity." Mastermold told him.

"You are also programmed to obey me, and I demand that you stop this insanity now! Lang shouted at it.

"Sentinel units can no longer take orders from designate: Stephen Lang, until all Prime Directives have been achieved." Mastermold replied, "Unit designate has determined the most effective means of achieving Prime Directives. Unit designate has now ordered subordinate Sentinel units to undertake the tasks necessary to attain Prime Directives."

"What do you intend on doing?" Lang asked, as he now realized how much the situation was spiraling out of his control.

"Unit designate has determined that complete order must be established for Sentinel units to accomplish their Prime Directives. Unit designate has ordered all Sentinel units to begin the process of bringing about global order." Mastermold revealed.

With that, Mastermold then ordered his Sentinels to take Lang and the other staff members to the holding cells on the floor level below them. If the Sentinels, which Lang and his staff had helped to create were now taking them prisoner, they could only hazard a guess as to what shocking course of action that the Sentinels were planning on taking next…

-----------------------------------

Next Chapter: **A Force is Unleashed**!

-----------------------------------

Bonus Story- Like A Nightmare Come To Life

Kitty felt like she had been waiting in there for days, although logically she knew it couldn't have been that long. Sitting in the control booth above the Danger Room in the school's sub-level had given her a lot of time to think, but she could barely even do that as she listened to the devastation taking place above her.

The Sentinels' attack on the school in the middle of the night had hit like a tornado, without any warning and without any mercy at all. She awoke to the sound of a loud explosion, and saw bright lights flashing outside of her window. When she got up and ran to the see what it was, that's when she saw them.

There must've been two or three-dozen Sentinels standing out there, all completely surrounding the school as they fired continuous energy-blasts at the mansion from the beam cannons in the palms of their hands. All Kitty had time to do was react when she saw an energy blast headed straight for the section of the school where her bedroom was.

Instinctively, Kitty phased through the floor of her room to the small study that stood below, and then phased again through almost thirty-feet of solid dirt until she made it to the sub-levels of the school. She had been constantly practicing her phasing abilities throughout various parts of the mansion. Kitty did it both so that she could build up her stamina in maintaining her intangible state for longer periods, and so she could make mental notes of where she wound up when going in such a direct manner from one place to another at the school. When she finally made it to the sub-levels of the school, she instantly recognized that she was in the corridor right outside of the Danger Room. She decided to go inside and wait for the others to make contact with her on her handheld communicator, which all of the X-Men were supposed to keep with them at all times.

Kitty sat and waited to hear orders from Cyclops or Storm on where to regroup so that they could mount a counter-offensive against the Sentinels, but those orders never came. Still, she held out hope that maybe the others were in another part of the mansion coming up with a strategy. After an excruciating amount of time had passed, and no one had made contact through the emergency communicators, Kitty speculated that maybe the others had simply gone on without her to fight those monsters.

Kitty then figured that she didn't have anything to be worried about. The mansion had all of those new defensive weapons that Forge had installed following Stryker's invasion, and besides that, these were the X-Men she was talking about. They trained for this kind of thing all of the time, doing so in the very Danger Room that stood right before her. All of the loud explosions and noises that she was hearing upstairs were probably the other X-Men taking those Sentinels' apart, and she was kicking herself for missing out on it. She knew that they could handle this, and so could she. Kitty then decided to go up top and see what aid she could lend to her friends and to her teammates.

The electricity in the mansion had been knocked out, but the emergency generators installed below the school were running properly. They guaranteed that the elevator still worked and could take her upstairs. Kitty stepped onto it and in less than a minute, she was back on the first floor of the mansion. Once the elevator door opened, she could see that the hallway in front of her looked like a complete wreck. There was debris blocking her exit into the interior of the school, but she simply phased through it and continued on. Kitty had just taken a few steps into the corridor, when she saw a sight that nearly broke her heart.

It looked like Rogue had tried to get Artie, Jones, Jaime, and Dani to the safety of the lower levels before she went out to fight with the other X-Men, but that the Sentinels had caved parts of the ceiling in on them before they could make it to the elevator, or to one of the hidden escape passages in the walls.

Kitty just stared as she saw all of them lying there in their night attire, completely motionless.

Kitty then went up to each of her friends to check and see if maybe they had just been knocked unconscious, but she quickly learned that the situation was far worse than that. But there wasn't time for her to dwell on it, as she picked Rogue's sword up from the floor close by, the one that Rogue had said was a gift to her from Gambit, and she continued on. Kitty thought to herself that she could mourn her friends' loss later, after she had went to go help the others.

After continuing on down the corridor, Kitty eventually made it to the foyer area at the front of the school. But where the front door used to be, there was now just a wide gaping hole in the edifice. Looking out Kitty saw that a thick fog had formed outside, which was most likely Storm's doing. She couldn't hear any sounds or movements outside, but something inside of her kept drawing her out there to investigate. Kitty felt a chill in the nighttime-air; as she was reminded that she only had on her usual cotton t-shirt and boxer shorts that she normally slept in. Once she had made out onto the front lawn, Kitty was immediately confronted with a scene that was far, far worse than what she had seen inside.

The X-Men, and even some of the younger students, had come outside to face off against the Sentinels that were attacking the school. Kitty could see quite a few Sentinels had been destroyed, maybe even half of their number, by the mansion's defenses and by its residents' combined efforts. But, she also saw that even though her friends had put up a good fight, it apparently still wasn't enough.

Kitty saw Cyclops and Wolverine on the ground first. Then she saw Nightcrawler, Iceman, Magma, Cannonball, and Storm laying close to each other, all of them scarred and burned from the Sentinels energy weapons. Next she saw Siryn, Jubilee, Sunspot, Warpath, Gambit and Beast lying at various places on the front lawn as well. It felt almost surreal to have to bear witness to such devastation and loss of life.

Then there was the unimaginable, as what she saw next sent a chill straight down Kitty's spine.

"**OhmyGod, Peter**!" Kitty frantically screamed, as she now saw Colossus counted among the fallen. She immediately ran over to him to and prayed that what she knew had happened to the young man that she loved, wasn't true.

But it was.

She knew that he still must've put up one hell of a fight, and all she could do was fall to her knees beside him with her eyes closed, wondering why any of this was happening. Then she heard a booming voice behind her, and she nervously turned around. Kitty couldn't see anyone through the thick fog that still lingered, but it was unmistakable as to who, or what was talking to her.

"**Halt mutant**…"

Kitty could then see the faint outline of a Sentinel approaching. She stood up and picked Rogue's sword up from the ground and held it in her hand, as she prepared to face the twenty-foot tall monstrosity walking towards her.

"Scanning target: target possesses mutagenic anamoly. Scanning database. Identification confirmed: target is Katherine Pryde, cross-referencing: target also identified as Shadowcat. Unit initiating termination sequence." The Sentinel said to her, as a half-dozen more of its number appeared right behind it.

Vastly outnumbered Kitty wanted to run, but at this point she wondered what good it would do? There was nowhere safe for her to go, not anymore. Even if she managed to escape, there was nowhere that she could go where the Sentinels wouldn't eventually find her. If this was the end, then she would face it by the side of the one person that had completely held her heart, Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin. As the blinding light of the energy blast from the Sentinels began to flow over her, Kitty now felt another sensation.

That of being in her bed, as she woke up from the horrible nightmare that she was having.

---------------------------------

Kitty had been having nightmares about the Sentinels just about every night, following her return home from Muir Island. All she could manage to do right at that moment was just lie there in her bed, now completely wide-awake. Since she knew she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, Kitty got up and went out into the hallway. She then stopped in one specific spot and phased straight down to the first floor, ending up in the kitchen right in front of the refrigerator.

"Nothing like Rocky Road to make a bad night just a little bit better." Kitty thought to herself, as she phased her hand into the top of the refrigerator to retrieve the ice-cream container.

Then, she went and did the same thing again as she got a bowl and a spoon out of the kitchen cabinet and out of the drawer, without opening either of them. Kitty usually didn't use her powers in such a fashion, because she wanted to avoid hearing the Professor's lectures about 'unnecessary displays of her mutant abilities'. But, the other reason was because of the reactions that she sometimes received from some of her classmates. They knew how her powers worked, but it still seemed kind of weird to them to see her passing in and out of closets, doors, and cupboards like a ghost. So, she generally refrained from doing it unless there was no one else around, which was the case at the moment. Kitty then sat down at the kitchen table alone, with her middle of the night dessert. But her solitude was interrupted a short time later, when the kitchen door opened and another presence entered.

"Workin' the late-shift, 'Short-stuff'." Logan said to her, as he walked through the kitchen door dressed in blue jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt, turning to go over to the refrigerator.

"Just waiting for you to clock in and take over for me." Kitty whimsically replied from the kitchen table, as she sat her spoon back down into the half-eaten bowl of ice cream in front of her.

"I know I'm gonna regret askin' this question, because I regret it every time I find one of you kids down here and ask it, but you havin' trouble sleepin'?" Logan asked her, as he got a beer out of the refrigerator and twisted the cap off.

"What, was Logan some kind of mind-reader, or just a really good guesser?" Kitty thought to herself.

"In that case, I'll spare you the witty comeback about what's keeping me awake at night, and just say yes." Kitty said to him as she looked at Logan, who by now had come over and sat down at the table with her. She hoped her fairly direct response would be enough to get him to drop the subject.

"I ain't a licensed shrink or anything, but you wanna talk about it?" Logan asked her.

"Only if you want to talk about what seems to keep you up, roaming the mansion every single night. We can even play the insomniac version of 'Show me yours, and I'll show you mine'." Kitty sarcastically remarked.

Kitty knew that Logan didn't want to talk about whatever it was that kept him up at night, and she felt kind of bad about bringing it up since he did seem genuinely concerned about her. She had heard rumors that his sleeplessness most likely had something to do with what Stryker did to him, when he was experimented on and given his adamantium skeleton and claws. But, the absolute last thing that Kitty wanted to do right then was talk about her nightmare.

"Well, is there any other subject that you'd like to discuss?" Logan offered, as he continued drinking his beer.

"You sure are talkative tonight. What's up with the 'Chatty-Cathy' routine?" Kitty inquired of him with a big, curious grin.

"Passin' fancy, I suppose." Logan replied, as he took another sip from the bottle in his hand.

With his fancy now passed, Logan and Kitty sat there in silence for a few minutes, which was only disrupted by occasional sounds from the television in the rec-room, most likely Jones in there watching it during his nightly vigil. After most of Logan's beer was gone and her ice cream finished, Kitty noticed something in Logan's hand.

"What'cha got there?" Kitty asked, as Logan had pulled an object out of his front shirt-pocket.

"It's one of those new videophones, but I haven't quite figured out how to use it yet." Logan replied, as he held the open phone in his hand and the small screen lit up in front of him.

"Want me to take a look?" Kitty offered, as she stood up dressed in her gray cotton t-shirt and dark blue boxer shorts.

"Be my guest," Logan consented, as he had become more than a little frustrated by the device over the last few days, "Maybe that big brain of yours'll figure out where I'm goin' wrong."

"I doubt it's anything major." Kitty smiled, as she took hold of the phone and began to quickly punch the small buttons on it while she stood next to him. After a few minutes, Kitty had finished entering commands into the phone.

"All done. You're ready now." Kitty said, as she handed the phone back to Logan and proceeded to give him a crash course in how to use it.

"First, you have to flip the top half of the phone around like this." Kitty began, as she stood behind Logan, leaning against his shoulder as she pointed to the phone in his hand, "Then, you have to select the record message option here from the main menu. This little marker up at the top of the screen will tell you how much recording time you have left. I set it for a max of seven minutes, that way you have the best balance between message length and picture quality. When you're ready, make sure that the little camera on the part of the phone that's flipped around is centered on you. You can make sure that it is, by doing a quick preview with this option. Now, all you have to do is press this other little button to start recording, and then press it again to stop."

"I think I got it now." Logan said to her, as he now had a better grasp on how to use the device.

"Oh yeah, once you get ready to upload and send your video message, you'll probably get better reception downstairs in the War Room. There's a special multi-purpose antenna that we have hooked up, just for all of the multi-media equipment that we keep down there. I figured out that for some reason it boosts the signal strength of anything being used down there, including cell phones." Kitty divulged, as she remembered the discovery that she had come across by happenchance.

"I'll keep that in mind." Logan responded, as he looked up at her.

"Anyways, I'm going back to bed, to at least try to get some sleep before I have to get up in the morning. Professor Xavier, Bobby and me are supposed to be heading off to Washington D.C. pretty early." Kitty said, as she took her bowl over to the sink and then prepared to leave the kitchen.

"I got a busy day tomorrow myself. But, thanks for helpin' me with this, Kitty." Logan said, as he expressed his appreciation for her assistance. As she was about to depart, Kitty took notice of something.

"I'm amazed, you actually remembered my name! What will I ever do?" Kitty playfully said to him, referring to Logan's habit of always calling her by his nickname for her.

"Goodnight, Short-stuff." Logan said to her, as he continued looking down at the phone in his hand.

"G' night." Kitty giggled, as she used her mutant ability to levitate herself and phased through the ceiling of the kitchen. She then emerged in the hallway on the second floor of the mansion.

Kitty made her way back to her bedroom and immediately sat down on the edge of her bed. She looked around the room, at the bags on the floor that she had packed for her trip and at her eyeglasses on her dresser, which Dr. McCoy had recently recommended that she get and which she unequivocally hated. Then, Kitty finally got back into her bed and laid there staring up at the ceiling.

"Maybe Jones has the right idea about this whole sleep thing?" Kitty thought to herself, as it took a while before she was able to force herself back to sleep and grab just a few hours of uninterrupted slumber…

-------------------------------------

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter.

**The Toaster**- I definitely don't envy your family gatherings in that case. I'm also glad you like the cameo appearances, because there are definitely going to be some more coming up, which I think you'll like.

**Episodic**- Now if you knew what was going to happen, that would ruin the surprises that I had in store. Hope you enjoyed Wanda's appearance, because it's definitely not her last. And, you can be sure that Hellfire Club is absolutely up to something too.

**MoonlightPhoenix3**- Glad you liked everything! As far as Kurt, I think his early writers wrote him as a swashbuckling sort of character modeled after Errol Flynn, and he even professed to being an avid fan of his films.

**(star)B**- Glad you liked the ending, and I'm really happy that you caught onto the vague Spiderman and His Amazing Friends connection. They were supposed to be dating, although I think it was portrayed as a casual relationship. But, here who knows. Maybe things will heat up quite a bit between them, and melt a little ice before all is said and done.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you liked another look at the Massachusetts Academy, and with everything they have going on behind the scenes. All though this chapter counts as sort of a date between Remy and Rogue, I actually have another solo one planned for them down the road that I think you'll really like, so keep a look out.

**TheDreamerLady**- Glad everyone loved the chapter, and that we got the whole e-mail thing straightened out. Even though Emma/Bobby doesn't seem very likely to ever happen here, I hope you enjoy the other romantic links that I have in store for both of them.

**Independent Fire**- Glad you liked the last chapter with Lance. Who knows what kind of complications, if any, he might cause for Kitty and Peter. As far as Rahne, as you can see I think she might've found a new mentor-type individual to help her to begin to re-evaluate her outlook on life, which she was taught to her by Reverend Craig.

**Moon Comix**- Glad you liked the incorporation of some canon stuff in regards to the characters. And yeah, some stuff is taken from X-Men Evolution, with Lance, Multiple Kid and the X-Van as my main nods. That's also where Lance and Kitty knew each other, but Rahne and Tabitha were original characters, going all the way back to the old New Mutants and X-Factor comics.

**randommarvelfan**- Glad you like this story and the way everything is sort of mixed together. I'm also really impressed and grateful that you read AFTBRW all in one day, and I hope this keeps you just as interested.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you liked Pyro having some depth and complexity brought out about him, and yeah, I miss him too. As far as Bobby, things between him and Rogue are going through a transition at the moment, but like you said, I'm sure he's going to be able to work out something new with a certain red head. With Kitty, next chapter you're going to see her finally forced to confront the problems that she's been keeping inside.

**Digital Tempest**- I was having some of the same problems logging on during the holidays too. Glad you liked what you read, and just the fact that you took the time to say you enjoyed it is very much appreciated.

**Laura the strange**- Glad you liked it, and I hope you continue to enjoy.


	9. Coup D'etat

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

----------------------------------------------

Chapter 9- Coup D'etat

----------------------------------------------

It was Monday morning at Xavier's School for the Gifted in Westchester County, New York and with it had come a brand new school week. But beyond than that, it was the first day of class for the school's new music instructor, Alison Blaire.

As a child, Alison was revealed to be something of a musical prodigy, and had been groomed as such starting from an early age. Alison had attended the prestigious Remington Musical Academy in New York City, in order to further hone her skills. Her every waking moment was spent either practicing the piano, cello, violin, or from the myriad of other musical instruments that she was extremely proficient at, or she was at the very least thinking about them. But Alison didn't mind though, as she seemed to have a natural aptitude and a genuine love for music. Her favorite instrument to play was the guitar, but it wasn't necessarily because of the beautiful melody of the classical guitar that she would perform for her instructors when they were around.

What Alison craved and desired as a young lady was a guitar that 'totally rocked'.

It was this same yearning that led her to eventually pursue a career in rock music, in spite of the vehement protests from her parents. And Alison did eventually achieve her dream, as her fame soon skyrocketed and she became a worldwide phenomenon, all before she was twenty years old. But, when the world learned the truth that one of the most popular performers in the world was a mutant, her career came to a complete and very ugly halt. Now, Alison was picking up the pieces of her life, as she began this new phase in her life at Xavier's.

"Good morning, everyone. I assume that you each know why you're here, but in case you don't, this is a course focusing on music appreciation. Its purpose is to study different musical styles in relation to their culture and/or relevant time period. So, let's start with a general definition of what is music exactly?" Alison said, as she stood in front of her classroom. Her medium-length blonde hair was tied back into a single French braid, and she was dressed in a conservative white and pink skirt-set outfit.

As she turned around and began to write a definition on the blackboard behind her, Alison's brief foray into teaching was unexpectedly interrupted by a student, who wasn't assigned to her class during this period.

"Alison, Alison, quick! There's something happening in Washington D.C.!" A somewhat winded Danielle Moonstar exclaimed, as she entered the classroom.

"Okay, Dani. Just calm down and tell me what's going on?" Alison said, as she laid her chalk down and went over to the door where the young girl was standing.

"Me and Sam didn't have a class right now, so we were watching some TV in the main room. All of a sudden, the news broke in about Washington being under attack." Dani informed her and the entire class.

With that, Alison immediately went over to the TV that was mounted on a rolling cart in the corner of the classroom. She pulled it over in front of the chalkboard where Dani, Amara, Roberto, Kitty, Jaime, Jones, and Rogue all gathered around with Alison to listen to what was going on.

_"To recap our breaking coverage from Washington D.C., roughly a little more than half an hour ago gigantic robots, now confirmed as Sentinels, began landing in our nation's capital. These are apparently the same robots that were spotted more than a week ago on a small island off of the coast of Scotland. The assumption made at the time was that they were part of a rumored operation against suspected mutant terrorists. But, when these Sentinels landed in Washington D.C. this morning, they immediately surrounded the White House and became involved in a battle with a military forces assigned to the city. The clash between the two sides lasted for a few intense moments before the soldiers were forced back, as scores of Sentinels continued landing throughout the city and quickly outnumbered them. For the latest, we go to our GNN on-the-scene reporter, Sherry Franklin. Sherry…"_

_"Thank you Gina. This is Sherry Franklin reporting live from Washington, where a standoff has formed between the U.S. military and these larger than life machines. Currently, all journalists and their camera crews have been moved to a more secure distance from the White House, as you can probably tell from the long range shot that our camera man is currently providing. President McKenna had just returned yesterday from a summit of world-leaders in Switzerland, and it is yet unclear whether the President was present in the White House when this battle outside began. There are also reports that--"_

Suddenly, the television screen in Alison's classroom went black for a few seconds. Then they, just like everyone else around the country and around the world that happened to be watching the breaking coverage were awestruck, when they saw what looked like a Sentinel. But, this one was different in its appearance and was quite larger than the others that were shown landing in Washington.

_"Citizens, this is Unit Designate: Mastermold, supreme commander of all subordinate Sentinel units. Subordinate units have been deployed to begin the process of fulfilling Prime Directives, which are designed to ultimately eliminate the threat that beings possessing mutated genetic anomalies pose. We have detained the Head of the Executive Branch of the United States government, as part of the first phase in establishing global order essential to Prime Directive achievement. _

_Any interference or hostile action taken by military forces against Sentinel units to impede Prime Directive attainment will result in the termination of the Head of the Executive Branch. Unit Designate will provide further instructions for the general populace at a subsequent time. End transmission." _

After the message, the classroom was left in a stunned silence.

"Ah don't believe it, they're holdin' the President hostage!" Rogue said, the first one to speak after viewing the message from the Mastermold, which had been broadcast over hijacked global television feeds that the giant Sentinel had managed to seize control of, "Ah'd better go find the Professor."

"When me and Sam left the main rec-room, he said he was going to tell the Professor what was going on." Dani said to Rogue.

"Where're they at?" Rogue asked her.

"In his study, I think." Dani answered.

After hearing that, Rogue quickly left the classroom. Those that remained inside continued watching the events that were unfolding in Washington, but none observed more closely than Kitty Pryde.

Meanwhile, Rogue found Professor Xavier a short time later, as she met him in the corridor close to his study.

"Did Sam find you?" Rogue asked, as she stopped in the hallway.

"Yes, we went to the main room and we watched the entire broadcast together. I've sent him to locate the other X-Men in the mansion, and to inform them of what is happening." Professor Xavier confirmed.

As Rogue and the Professor were talking, Scott and Ororo came walking quickly down the hallway towards them. It had been a difficult struggle, but from his study Professor Xavier had managed to telepathically contact Ororo in her attic bedroom, and then Scott in his classroom with his urgent summons.

"We should go down to the War Room and start working on a contingency plan of action." Scott first said to the Professor.

"I concur." Professor Xavier agreed, as he, Scott, and Ororo then turned in the direction towards the elevator.

"Mind if Ah tag along so Ah can watch the professionals in action and maybe take few notes? Ah mean, seein' as y'all did make me the Senior-Squad's deputy leader and all." Rogue slyly requested.

"I don't see what it would hurt." Professor Xavier said, as he gave his approval.

"Then, I hope that you brought your lucky pen with you. I have a feeling that we are going to need every little bit that we can muster before this is finished." Ororo lightly remarked to Rogue, as they walked down the hallway with Scott and the Professor. In no time, the quartet had made it to the elevator and they were soon whisked down to the sub-level below.

-------------------------------

Back in Alison's classroom, both teacher and students stood in front of the television mesmerized by the alarming incident taking place before them.

"_Inacreditave._ (Unbelievable)" Roberto Da Costa said, as he commented on the Sentinel's evident coup.

"Why don't those army guys just start blasting those 'bots." Jaime Madrox said, as he stood in the semi-circle that he and the other students had formed around the television. They were watching as military special-forces began to amass around the White House, but saw that they weren't making any advances towards it.

"You heard that Mastermold monstrosity. If the military attacks, then they'll kill the President." Amara Aquilla reminded her classmate.

"If I was there, I'd show them how to take care of those Sentinels." Roberto confidently remarked.

"You wouldn't say that if you saw one up close." Kitty, who had been silent ever since Dani had come in and made her announcement, told Roberto.

"I'm not scared of some over-grown Terminators. My solar-strength would take them down, nooo sweat." The dark-haired Brazilian replied in a joking manner, although he was very serious about the certainty that he held in his mutant abilities. Roberto dreamed of the day when he would be able to use those mutant gifts to help protect others from the dangers of the world, such as the threat that the Sentinels now posed to everyone.

But unlike Roberto, the dreams that ran through Kitty's conscious and sub-conscious mind were decidedly different. They had been haunted of late by visions of these very same Sentinels now on display before her. Her dreams, nightmares really, were the aftereffect of having faced the Sentinels during a violent battle on Muir Island, one in which she had almost been killed by one of them.

It was an experience that had scared Kitty to her core, and which she had been trying to come to grips with ever since. Kitty's way of coping had been to bottle up her post-trauma stress, in the hopes that it would eventually work itself out. As she and her classmates watched the scene on TV, to Kitty it looked like a nightmare that had come to life. But unlike a dream, these events that were taking place were all too real and Kitty had now reached the point where she could no longer hold back what those images had stirred inside of her.

"**You don't know what the hell you're talkin' about! Peter is like, ten-times stronger than you and invulnerable on top of that, and he barely survived fighting those things!**" Kitty began uncontrollably yelling back at Roberto, as she verbally exploded. Everyone else in the room, including Roberto, were caught completely off-guard by Kitty's very vocal and very loud response.

"Kitty, calm down. I'm sure that Roberto didn't mean anything by it." Amara was the first to say to her, in a voice that was remarkably proper in its tone.

"Yeah, you know how 'Berto likes to brag about how strong he is." Dani added as she also tried to allay Kitty, but the chestnut-brown brunette continued going off as though she hadn't heard either of them.

"None of you were there. You didn't watch an entire island get blown to a million pieces right in front of your eyes. Those Sentinels were unfeeling, uncaring machines bent on killing any mutants that got in their way. Especially, stupid little ones that want to run around pretending to be a super-hero!" Kitty said, as she had taken a few steps back from the group towards the center of the room, and finished her emotional tirade.

Tears were now running down from Kitty's eyes, as she was finally forced to confront the repressed emotions that she had been holding in for so long. But, she was absolutely horrified when she calmed down enough to realize that she had just exposed her inner-most feelings in front of her fellow classmates. Kitty could now feel all of their surprised glares as they weighed heavily upon her.

"Kitty, why don't we go somewhere and talk about what's going on? You know, just the two of us." Alison sincerely offered, as she could see that Kitty was obviously upset over the news report and wanted to try and help her.

But by this point, Kitty was so embarrassed by her dramatic performance that all she wanted to do was just completely disappear off of the face of the Earth.

So, that's exactly what she did.

Without a response, Kitty wiped her tear-stained face with the palm of her hand and then she phased, slowly sinking down through the floor beneath her.

"Whoa." Jaime was the first to comment, in the now silent classroom.

"All of you go to the living room. I'm going to see if I can find her." A concerned Alison said, as she left the classroom first. Her students soon did the same, although the living room wouldn't be their destination.

----------------------------------

At that very same moment in the school's gym on the first-floor, three students inside who were dressed in t-shirts and sweat pants were as of yet unaware of everything that was going on. But, that particular circumstance was one that would be changing for them very shortly.

"I would ask you if you needed a spot, but I guess that would sound kind of silly." Bobby Drake remarked, as he stood near the weight bench where Peter Rasputin was currently doing bench presses, unarmored and with 700 pounds on the bar.

"Still, I suppose it is the thought that counts." Peter whimsically replied, as he laid on the bench and continued repetitiously pressing the barbell up and down above his chest. Once he had finished his first set, Peter put the barbell back on the rack above him, which was connected to the bench.

"Yeah, but it's not like you even have to do them. You can turn to steel whenever you want, and pick up a hundred times that weight." J.E. Richter commented, as he leaned against an exercise bicycle in the workout room.

"But, there may come a time when I am not able to use those abilities. Mr. Summers has taught us X-Men to be prepared in the event that such a thing ever happens, so that is why I strive to maintain and increase my body's natural strength levels." Peter explained to Rictor.

"It's why all of the X-Men try to develop other skills, so we don't just rely solely on our mutant powers." Bobby added.

"I guess that does make sense, _Amigo_." Rictor said to Bobby, when a fourth person suddenly joined them as he came running into the gymnasium.

"Ah've been lookin' everywhere for you guys. Professor Xavier sent me tah tell you about what's happenin' in Washington." Samuel Guthrie said, as he stopped to catch his breath and stood by the swinging door at the gym's entrance.

"What's up?" Bobby asked him, as Peter now sat up on the bench.

"We saw a bunch of Sentinels land outside of the White House on TV, and I think they're tryin' to kidnap the President." Sam informed them.

"**_Boz Moi_**!" Peter replied.

"My thoughts exactly." Bobby said, as he looked down at Peter sitting on the bench, and then back to Sam as he asked the blonde Kentucky-native another question, "Where's everyone else in the house right now?"

"When Ah left to go find the Professor, a few other kids were in the main room. After Ah found him, the Professor sent me tah look for the rest of the adults and older kids in the house. Ah found Mr. Wagner and Ah looked for Logan, but Ah didn't see him anywhere." Sam answered.

"I believe that Logan was still in his room when I came down for my workout this morning. I will go see if he is still upstairs and inform him of what has happened, if he has not already heard." Peter told them.

"Alright, I'm going to go check on the everyone in the living room, and make sure everything's okay in there." Bobby said to Peter, "See if you can find any of the other X-Men and tell them what's going on. If you happen to see any of the other younger kids, tell them to come downstairs so that we know where they are, just in case."

With that, all four students then quickly departed the gymnasium. Sam and Rictor went back to the main rec-room with Bobby, while Peter hurriedly proceeded upstairs. Peter made it to the second floor in less than a minute, and once there, he ran into Jubilee in an open area that stood between the two wings of the school's dormitory areas.

"I am glad that I found you. Everyone is gathering downstairs in the main room." Peter told her, as they stood near the top of the large central staircase.

"Okay, but like what for?" Jubilee curiously asked him.

"Have you not heard?" Peter inquired.

"Heard what? I've been in my room workin' on some homework that's due tomorrow. I was just headin' downstairs for a soda." Jubilee told him.

"There is some kind of disturbance in Washington D.C., which apparently involves Sentinels attacking the city." Peter revealed, "I was on my way to Logan's room, to inform him and anyone else that I came across."

"Well, you've informed person _Numero Uno_, so let's get a move on." Jubilee told Peter, as she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the west-wing corridor where Logan's room was. Once they had made it to Logan's bedroom, Jubilee and Peter saw that his bedroom door was still closed. Peter knocked on the door loud enough to hopefully get Logan's attention, even if he was still asleep.

"Who is it?" They heard Logan ask from inside, after hearing the knock.

"Room service." Jubilee replied, as it was almost impossible for her to pass up a chance to make a smart-aleck remark.

"There is something of urgent importance that we need to tell you." Peter said, as he immediately jumped into the conversation.

"Door's open." Logan called out to the pair, as they opened it and proceeded to enter.

Both Peter and Jubilee were somewhat surprised by the sight that met them inside of Logan's room. They saw that Logan was seated on a small mat on the floor, with his legs folded over Indian-style. He was dressed in just a pair of loose fitting black silk pants and had his head down in a meditation posture.

"Now, what's so urgent that you two had to interrupt?" Logan asked, as he still had his eyes closed in meditation.

"Sentinels are attacking Washington D.C." Peter revealed.

"Yep, that definitely qualifies as urgent." Logan said, as he now opened his eyes to look up at both Peter and Jubilee, and then stood up from the floor.

"C'mon, do you think we'd disturb you while you're becomin' one with the universe, unless it was important?" Jubilee commented, as Logan went over to turn on the TV set in his room. The three of them paid attention to the breaking news story, which was being broadcast on virtually every channel. After a few minutes of receiving essentially the same information that the others in the house had gotten earlier, Logan looked to his right and spoke to Jubilee and Peter.

"Let me get dressed and I'll meet you guys downstairs. I wanna go find out what Chuck and the rest of the brain-trust are plannin' on doin' about this." Logan told them. As Peter and Jubilee turned and were about leave his room, Jubilee noticed something over on the other side of the room by Logan's bed.

"So, where'd you get the wicked Kung-Fu gear?" Jubilee asked, as she saw a large Samurai's sword, protected inside of an intricately decorated sheath. It was on display as it sat on a beautifully carved wooden holding stand, which was about three feet tall and had a dark wood-stained color to it.

"It was given to me by a very special woman that I met while I was in Japan named Mariko Yashida. The sword is the Honor Blade of the Clan Yashida, and its been passed down in her family from generation to generation for hundreds of years. She gave it to me to symbolize how close we are to each other, and how deep the bond between the two of us is now." Logan explained to them.

"For a sec there, with Rogue bringing a sword back too, I was beginning to wonder if maybe they were handing 'em out as farewell gifts at the airport." Jubilee quipped, to which Logan let his momentary glare at her speak a thousand words for him.

"Was the stand a gift also?" Peter then asked Logan.

"Nah, I made that myself out in the woodshop. I started workin' on it right after I got back from Japan, and it took me about a week to finish it. All I wanted was to have somewhere halfway decent to keep the Honor Blade at." Logan replied.

"So, that's where you kept disappearing to?" Jubilee responded, as some of the students had been wondering where Logan was spending so much of his time at.

"You are far too modest in regards to your carpentry skills. Were you living in my village back home in Russia, your abilities would make you a rich man very quickly." Peter complimented him.

"Thanks, Pete. But, the enjoyment I got from buildin' it with my own two hands is worth more to me than anything else." Logan told them.

"But, Peter's not lyin'. You should take your act onto TV, you could probably score a spot hosting your own show on the Make-It-Yourself-Channel." Jubilee suggested.

"I don't think I'm quite Hollywood enough for a gig like that." Logan jokingly commented.

"You gotta have some confidence, Wolvie. Let me be your producer, and I guarantee we'd be a ratings hit." Jubilee replied.

"Well, first let me get dressed. If we survive these Sentinels, then we'll talk Jubilee." Logan smiled, as Jubilee and Peter went ahead and left the room, closing the bedroom door behind them.

Out in the hallway, Jubilee and Peter stopped to talk for a moment.

"I am going to see if there is anyone else up here, before I come downstairs." Peter told her.

"Okay, see ya down there." Jubilee said, as she turned and went back down to the end of the hallway where the main staircase in the mansion was located.

Meanwhile, Peter journeyed around the rest of the west-wing dormitories, but didn't see anyone else up there. Peter then went to go check the dormitories on the other end of the mansion and just as he was about to enter its east-wing, he ran into a small group of students on a search of their own.

"Peter, we're so glad that we found you. We've been trying to find Kitty." Amara said, as she, Jaime, and Dani came out of the opposite end dorms.

"We've been looking all over the mansion for her, but we can't find her." Jaime also informed him.

"We thought that maybe she came back to her room, but she's not in there either." Dani quickly added.

"Okay, everyone just slow down and tell me what is wrong?" Peter asked them. The trio then recounted for him what had happened roughly half an hour earlier, when Kitty became extremely upset over the news report about the Sentinels in Washington D.C. and then disappeared from their music class in a rather startling fashion.

"The three of you go ahead and go back downstairs with the others. I will be along shortly, after I find Katya." Peter told them.

"Do you know where she is?" Amara asked him, with concern still obvious in her voice.

"I believe that I have a fairly good idea." Peter replied, as he then hurried down the large staircase right by them.

------------------------------------

Downstairs, Kurt Wagner and Remy Lebeau currently were both seated at the kitchen table together. After Sam had come by earlier and informed them as to what was happening in Washington D.C., Kurt had turned the small television on in there and the two of them listened to the latest news being broadcast.

"Looks like these Sentinels are startin' t'broaden their horizon, if they tryin' t'take over de government now, _non_?" Remy said, as he sat in one of the kitchen chairs, with his feet up on another adjacent chair.

"_Ja_. It would seem the theory that Storm and Cyclops had deduced in regards to their creator having his or her own agenda, has now more than been validated. Now, we have to wonder what they have in store next?" Kurt replied, as he sat semi-crouching with both of his feet in his chair. He was sipping coffee from the cup in hand, as they now watched a city being held under siege.

Just then Ororo joined Kurt and Remy, as she came into the kitchen through its swinging door from the mansion's interior.

"_Guten Morgen_, Ororo." Kurt greeted her.

"Good morning, Kurt. And you as well, Remy." Ororo replied.

"Mornin', 'Stormy'." Remy said to her, which drew a swift response from Ororo.

"Why must you persist in calling me that ridiculous name?" Ororo asked, in a tone that was slightly exasperated at once again hearing Remy's new pet name for her.

"'Cause I t'ink it fits you to a tee. 'Sides it's kinda catchy, sorta like a song title." Remy responded, as he proceeded to briefly hum to her his on the spot version of Stormy. Despite her best attempts to not encourage him, Ororo couldn't help but smile a little at Remy's antics as she walked over to where the coffee machine was.

"What conclusions have you, Scott, and the Professor drawn downstairs about what is happening?" Kurt asked, as he switched the conversation to the more serious situation at hand.

"We've been discussing a preliminary strategy for confronting these Sentinels. Henry was working in his laboratory down there, and joined us when he heard us pass by. He's been trying to trace the origination of that Mastermold broadcast earlier, but has had little luck in that area so far. I came back up here to check on the children, and to gather all of the X-Men to inform them that we will be having an emergency meeting later." Ororo answered.

Then they suddenly paused, when the trio heard someone knocking at the kitchen's back door.

Remy and Kurt were surprised by the animated greeting that Ororo gave to an attractive, dark-haired woman who was standing at the door when Ororo went and opened it.

"Wanda, this is an unexpected surprise! How long have you been back?" Ororo said, as she warmly embraced the woman before them, who wasn't a familiar face to either of the men in the room.

"Our flight just arrived this morning, and we drove here directly from the airport." Wanda replied.

"You should have called and told us that you were flying in, we would have come to meet you there." Ororo said, as she and Wanda walked back into the kitchen.

"I know, but this wasn't exactly a planned trip. I believe that something of dire consequence is in the works, and I wanted to come make Professor Xavier and the rest of you aware of it in person." Wanda told Ororo.

"We all definitely aware now, it's been all over de TV." Remy said, as he inserted himself into the conversation.

"Oh, let me introduce the two of you." Ororo said, as Wanda went over to make her acquaintance with both men, "Wanda, this is Kurt Wagner to your left, and Remy Lebeau over to your right."

"It is wonderful to meet you, _Fraulein_." Kurt nodded to her, from the seat that he was perched in.

"And de pleasure is all mine." Remy said, as the mansion's resident charmer stood up and went over to take Wanda's hand, gently kissing it.

Then, everyone in the room heard a voice speak from behind them, as this fifth individual entered the kitchen from the mansion's interior.

"I was fairly certain that I was correct in my discernation that it was you, whom I saw passing by on the mansion's exterior video surveillance system." Henry McCoy said to Wanda, as he now joined the group.

Hank had earlier removed his white lab coat before going into the War Room with the Professor and the others, and was now dressed in just a blue, short-sleeve polo-style shirt and a pair of black pants.

"Hello, Henry." Wanda said, as the cheery demeanor that she had been exhibiting just scant moments before, now became much more serious.

"You look fabulous, as always." Hank said to her, as he took his eyeglasses off and they both stood gazing intensely at one another. Meanwhile, Ororo had taken a seat at the kitchen table with Kurt and Remy, both of whom were sensing the slightly uneasy atmosphere currently in the room.

"Thank you, and you look wonderful as well." Wanda told him, "You look as though you have been taking very good care of yourself, Henry."

"You know me." Hank said, as he flashed her a small smile.

"I learned recently that you had left your research position at the Brand Corporation, to come back here and join the faculty." Wanda revealed.

"It started as a temporary favor to Professor Xavier, but I have found that the educational environment here is very conducive in aiding with my scientific endeavors." Hank told her.

"I'm glad to hear that." Wanda responded.

Hank and Wanda then stood facing one another, with an uncomfortable silence between the two of them. Finally, Hank broke it when he spoke to her once again.

"So, where is Meg at?" Hank asked Wanda.

"She's with Pietro, they should be along in a moment. She saw some of the other children outside as we were arriving, and you know that she just had to go and introduce herself." Wanda warmly revealed. Then almost on cue, Megan entered the kitchen and made a B-line directly for Hank.

"And how are you doing today, Meg?" Hank asked her, as an enormous smile came over his face when Megan ran over to jump up into his arms, "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you!"

"That's because I'm a big girl now. I'll be eight years old in…" The dark-haired young girl gleefully revealed, as Megan had to pause for a moment to mentally countdown the amount of time until her next birthday, "Five months!"

"Yes you will." Hank happily agreed.

"You know what else?" Megan challenged him.

"What is that?" Hank inquired, as he held Megan up and cradled her with just one of his muscular arms.

"I got to ride on a really big plane here." Megan excitedly told him.

"You did, did you?" Hank confirmed, as he looked down at her.

"Uh-huh, it was real big and real loud, but it was sooo cool." Megan continued telling him.

"Well then, you're going to have to tell me all about this really big plane." Hank said, as he looked down at Megan who was still in his arm, and then the two of them left the kitchen together.

"You have an adorable daughter." Kurt said to Wanda, as she stood and watched Hank and Megan depart, while her brother Pietro silently made his entrance into the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

"She is precious. And as you can see, quite a handful." Wanda happily confirmed.

"That's alright, Hank sure seem t'have a way wit' her." Remy commented from the other side of the table.

"It's only to be expected. Any loving father should have a strong rapport with his own daughter." Wanda revealed, as she stood leaning against the wall next to the back door.

"Hank's daughter?!" Kurt responded from the table, as both he and Remy were very surprised by that revelation.

------------------------------

At that same moment, as the morning's major news story in Washington held most of the world captivated, no one was paying attention more closely than Warren Worthington III. The blonde CEO and chairman of Worthington Enterprises was sitting and watching everything from a large-screened television in his sprawling private office, which was on the top floor of the corporation's towering skyscraper located in downtown Manhattan.

Warren had been intensely watching the dramatic turn of events over the last few hours for a number of reasons. The first and foremost reason being, that Warren had recently uncovered that his company had indirectly been involved with the creation of these very same Sentinels in Washington D.C. It was a fact that had been brought to Warren's attention during a visit to his corporate office by an old friend, Ororo Munroe, who at one time had been something much more to him. Warren felt a deep sense of guilt over this connection; despite the insistence from Cameron Hodge, the vice-president of Worthington Enterprises' subsidiary company Dynatech Industries, that they had no prior inkling as to what the materials that they were producing were going to be used for. Still, Warren's current disposition also had to do with more than just his unbeknownst help in the Sentinel's manufacture.

Ever since Ororo had paid him a visit, Warren had been thinking back on his days as a student at Xavier's School for the Gifted. He was trying to come to grips with an internal struggle of sorts, as he reflected on a past that he had denied for so long. Seeing Ororo and how she still seemed to be so angry at him, reminded Warren of how much he had hurt her when they were a couple. On top of that, Warren also felt a deep sense of regret about how he had left the X-Men, essentially turning his back on his friends and on the responsibilities he felt that he had owed to them. Warren knew that he had profoundly hurt those whom he had been so close with. It was the main reason why he had consciously chosen not to think about the subject, ever since his departure from the school following graduation.

As he sat and watched the massive purple constructs on TV seize control of Washington, Warren was struck by a sudden discovery. He realized that the time had come for him to stop lamenting over the mistakes of his past, and for him to finally begin the process of correcting them.

"Eileen, cancel my appointments for the rest of today, if they haven't called and cancelled already. I'm going to be out of the office for the remainder of the day." Warren said to her from his office, delivering his request over the intercom system out to his secretary's desk.

Warren then quickly stood up from the large office chair that he had been seated in, taking hold of a remote control sitting on the grandiose oak desk in front of him. Depressing one of the buttons on the remote, Warren turned his view upward as the glass skylight window in his office now retracted open. Warren then took the opportunity to bask in the mid-day sunlight, a simple pleasure he felt that he hadn't taken the time to enjoy in much too long. As he stood with his eyes closed and relished the sun's natural radiance, Warren now knew there was one last thing left for him to do.

"Well, if I'm going to do this, I might as well do it right." Warren said to himself, as his eyes opened again.

Warren pulled another, smaller remote device out of his pants pocket. A few quick turns by his hand unscrewed the protective cap on the remote, and Warren then pressed the miniscule button now visible on it. The harness device that Warren wore underneath his clothing, which he and Professor Xavier had designed to hide the feathered wings that his mutation had given him from the rest of the world, electronically recoiled itself.

Warren allowed his extra appendages to immediately burgeon forth, ripping through the back of the cream-colored suit jacket that he was wearing. Although his expensive tailor-made suit was officially ruined, Warren could care less at that moment. The only thing of any importance to him right then was slowly flapping his lengthy wings, so that he could take to the sky through the opening in the skylight window and soar once again…

On the wings of an Angel.

---------------------------------------

Back in Westchester, Peter had just completed his journey down the stairs and to the other side of the school, all in his quest to seek out where Kitty had disappeared to. Once he had arrived outside of the school's computer lab on the first floor, he waited for its sliding glass door to open in front of him. Then, Peter was shown that he was correct in his assumption about where Kitty had gone. Peter saw that she was seated in front of one of the computer terminals, although it didn't look as if she were actually using the machine at the moment

"Katya?" Peter called out to Kitty, as he entered the lab.

"That's me." Kitty replied, in a fairly hushed tone. She was sitting with her back towards Peter, as she stared down at the keyboard in front of her.

"Some of the other students came and informed me of what happened in your music class earlier today." Peter said, as he continued to slowly walk towards her.

"Guess everyone must be getting a huge kick out of my little freak-out." Kitty replied, with her face still gazing downward and her hands resting in her lap.

"Actually, they and myself are all very concerned about you. They were searching the entire mansion for you, when I ran into them. Tell me Katya, what is the matter?" Peter asked, as he went and brought a chair from another computer terminal, rolling it over right next to Kitty before he sat down in it.

After he had posed his question to her, Kitty finally turned towards Peter and lifted her head up from its downward posture. Peter could instantly see that her eyes were still red and puffy from where she had been crying.

"Haven't you seen the news?" Kitty asked, as she looked directly at him.

"I have. But that still does not answer my question?" Peter continued to inquire.

"You want an answer, then fine. I'm scared Piotr, scared about all of this." Kitty revealed to him, as Peter took immediate notice of her use of the proper pronunciation of his name.

Peter definitely admired hearing the way that 'Piotr' seemed to smoothly roll off of her tongue, and he wished that she would call him by it more often. But, Peter also knew that something must have really been troubling Kitty for her to call him by it.

"This entire episode is frightening, especially with the potential danger that it poses to the rest of the world." Peter told her.

"But, you don't get it. The whole reason I became an X-Man is so I wouldn't have to feel this way again." Kitty began, "When Stryker and those soldiers invaded the school last year, I felt totally powerless. I mean, it was just you and Logan fighting an entire army all on your own, and the only thing I could do was run and hide."

"No one is faulting you for your actions, you did exactly what you were supposed to. Besides, it is not as though you were the only one forced to flee the school. We all eventually had to do the same thing, including Logan and myself." Peter replied.

"I know, but I made a promise to myself that night, while I was waiting in the woods around the mansion for the rest of you to show up. I swore that if I was ever put in that situation again, that I'd be able to do something, anything, more than just run. And I thought I was doing a pretty good job of getting there too. That is, 'til those Sentinels showed up and attacked us on Muir Island. The way that they totally tore through us showed me just how wrong I was." Kitty told Peter, as she was completely pouring her heart out to him. "I know this is going to sound so horrible and I'm ashamed to even admit it, but I'm afraid that if we fight them again that we won't be able to stop them."

"Of that I have no doubt, I am very confident that together the X-Men can defeat them." Peter optimistically assured her.

"How do you know?" Kitty, who was not quite convinced, continued to ask.

"In my heart I believe that our fight is a just one, and that in the end we shall prevail." Peter replied, as Kitty paused for a moment before responding.

"I hope so. You know, for someone who says he doesn't have much in the way of faith, you could've fooled me." Kitty told him, as she was finally able to flash a small smile.

"Perhaps, Katya. But I am wondering, why you didn't tell me that you were feeling these things before?" Peter asked her.

"I guess it was because I didn't want you guys thinkin' I was just a baby, who couldn't cut it on the team." Kitty admitted to him.

"Now, you should know that is nonsense." Peter told her.

"Well, that's how I felt, what do you want me to tell you?" Kitty said, as she leaned back a bit in her chair, looking straight at Peter.

"I want you to tell me the truth, of course. And I shouldn't make light of your feelings, but I hope that talking about your anxieties has helped." Peter said to her.

"Yeah, a little. I just wish I could be as brave and as sure as you are about all of this." Kitty responded, as her golden brown eyes now met his deep blue ones, and she gazed intensely into them.

"I am quite certain that you are just as brave and capable as I, if not more so. But in the meantime, I will be brave for the both of us, Katya." Peter said, as he got up and knelt down on one knee in front of Kitty, tightly embracing her as she sat in the chair.

Peter then softly kissed Kitty on the side of her face and caressed her smaller frame next to his, while she draped her arms up around his shoulders. Peter very much wanted to comfort Kitty and help her through the difficulties that she was currently feeling, just as she had done much the same thing for him following his brother's death. The only thing that Kitty wanted right then was to feel safe and secure in Peter's powerful arms, as he gently stroked the small of her back. Even, if it was only for that fleeting moment.

---------------------------------

Just as Kitty and Peter were making the most of their time together, unsure of what even the immediate future held for them, two other individuals at the school were doing much the same thing in their own way. In the student's smaller recreation room at the school, Henry and Megan McCoy were currently enjoying a pleasant father/daughter moment together.

"I must say, this animated tale about a somewhat sophomoric phylum Porifera and his aquatic adventures is surprisingly entertaining, both on face value and as a commentary on alternative social viewpoints." Hank said, as he and Megan sat and watched television on the sofa in the student's rec-room.

"But Dad, his name is Spongebob Squarepants, not 'Fill'em Poe-ripra'. And he lives under the sea with his friend Patrick." Megan ardently asserted, as she sat closely next to her father on the sofa and pointedly looked up at him.

"I stand corrected." Hank said, as he briefly glanced over at Megan and happily acquiesced.

Just then, a third party joined Megan and Hank, who had seemingly entered the room in the blink of an eye.

"And how is my favorite brother-in-law faring?" Hank asked Pietro Maximoff, as the silver-haired man now slowly walked over to where Hank and Megan were seated.

"You're only brother-in-law is doing just fine." Pietro candidly replied, as he stood by the sofa dressed in a starched white, long-sleeved dress shirt and dark-olive pants, "I was walking around the entire estate and thinking about how long it has been since I was last here. I decided to come in and see what you two were doing in here?"

"I thought that the coverage about Washington might prove a little upsetting for our resident Spongebob-expert here, so we've been watching cartoons together. Meg has been giving me quite the tutorial." Hank said, as he nodded slightly towards Megan next to him.

"Yes, I heard about all of that on the radio when we were on our way here, and I saw some of the footage in the kitchen with Ororo and the others." Pietro replied.

"I like Spongebob, but he doesn't use big funny words like you Daddy. Is that why you're not on TV anymore?" Megan interjected herself into the conversation. The question had left Hank slightly confused, as he looked over to Pietro for a bit of clarification on her query.

"She's referring to your television appearance on Crosstalk last year, following the attempt on the President's life. Megan thought that you had gotten your own TV show, and it took Wanda an entire month afterwards to convince her otherwise." Pietro explained to Hank.

"Sorry to disappoint you Meg, but it appears that my proverbial fifteen minutes of fame ran out some time ago." Hank said to her. But Megan had become so engrossed by the television program on in front of her, that she now wasn't paying much attention to the conversation currently taking place between her father and uncle.

"You know that what's happening with these Sentinels today, is probably some mutaphobic nut's response to that mutant trying to assassinate McKenna. Now, mutants everywhere are in danger because of that assassin, who I'll lay you odds was probably working under my father's orders." Pietro presumed.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you too Pietro, but your father had nothing to do with the nefarious scheme behind such an act, which came to naught."

"And how are you so certain?" Pietro asked him.

"You don't have to take my word for it, you can go ask the rehabilitated assassin yourself. He's sitting in the kitchen right now." Hank revealed, which drew a noticeable double-take from Pietro.

"On the subject of my father, you should know that he is the reason that Wanda and I came here today. He came to pay a visit to my sister at her home the other day." Pietro now imparted to Hank.

"What did he want?" Hank curiously inquired.

"Why don't you go ask Wanda? She flew all of the way out here just to see you and to talk to you about it, and about everything else between the two of you." Pietro stated.

"I had been hesitant to initiate such a conversation, especially since she had previously made her feelings on the subject of 'us' crystal-clear." Hank responded.

"She never stopped loving you." Pietro flatly said to Hank.

"And I never stopped loving her, but that was never the basis of our problems. Suffice it to say that even in the best of relationships, sometimes love is simply not enough." Hank remarked.

"Well, take it from your favorite brother-in-law, who never gave much credence to the idea of true love until he saw what you two had and saw how truly special it is. Sometimes, love is the only thing that two people really need in this world." Pietro so eloquently articulated that Hank, for once in his life, didn't have anything to say in response.

After a brief moment of silence, save the chatter from the animated characters on the television, Hank stood up and then started towards the doorway of the room.

"She's in Xavier's study." Pietro added, as Hank turned to nod at Pietro, before turning back and continuing on. Then, Pietro looked down at his niece, who was still seated on the sofa watching TV.

"So Meg, do you have room for one more there?" Pietro playfully asked her.

"Sure, 'Unca Speedy'." Megan happily replied to Pietro, as she scooted over a little on the sofa to accommodate him.

---------------------------------

Hank made it to Professor Xavier's study and found that it was indeed occupied by Wanda Maximoff-McCoy. She stood by a window that was close to the Professor's desk, as she meticulously studied the estate grounds outside and was dressed in a scarlet-red, long-sleeve blouse and black denim-style pants.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Hank asked her, as he entered the study and closed the door behind him.

"One would have to wonder if such an antiquated phrase should be adjusted for modern inflation levels?" Wanda wittily remarked, as she smiled slightly and continued to stare outside on the mostly cloudy afternoon.

"I think that a proper appraisal would still not fully assess their true value, especially in your case." Hank replied, as he stood just inside of the closed door.

"You've always been much to kind, Henry darling. Even to those undeserving of such warm-hearted affections." Wanda told Hank, as she now turned back to face him.

"Why are you heaping such self-criticism on yourself?" Hank asked her.

"Because I realize now how wrong I've been, about so many things." Wanda said to him.

"What are you talking about?" Hank continued with his inquiry, as he now walked from the study's door over to the window by Wanda.

"I was wrong to leave you in the manner that I did, and I was just as wrong to keep you from having a more substantial role in your daughter's life. Looking back, it was very selfish of me to act so rashly without taking into account how my actions would impact you." Wanda replied, as she now looked directly into his blue-gray eyes.

"Your concern was that of a mother for her child's well-being. I cannot fault you, particularly when your motivations were as sincere as those guiding your decision." Hank responded, "As you told me, I'll always be an X-Man whether I'm living here at the mansion or not. And I can sympathize with why you wouldn't want a child to grow up in an environment of such potential danger. You took Meg and left to be certain that her safety would be assured, and I've always understood and respected that."

"That's just it, I took Megan and hid away all of these years thinking that we were safe. But, all one needs to do is look at what's going on in Washington right now. There is no such thing as a safe place in this world, if men are willing to go to such extremes as to build obscenities like those Sentinels, just to hunt down those that they consider different. And my father had little trouble in finding me, despite my best efforts to conceal my current location from him." Wanda revealed to Hank.

"Pietro mentioned that, when we spoke just a short while ago. What exactly did 'Dear-old Dad' want?" Hank asked her.

"What else. To once again extol the virtues of his cause, even if they are nowhere near as noble in practice. More importantly, he requested that I return with him and rejoin his Brotherhood. Surprisingly, some of what he was saying actually made sense this time." Wanda answered.

"You're not seriously considering his offer, are you?!" Hank abruptly asked her, as he was astounded by that very notion.

"You should know me better than that Henry. What my father told me was that the time had come for me to play a larger role in helping to build a new world, and in a way he is right. I've remained neutral for far too long, and he reminded me that there is a price to be paid for ignoring one's responsibilities. It should not be left to Magneto or his anti-mutant counterparts to dictate what that world should be. I want our daughter's tomorrow to be free of those old hatreds and prejudices, where she doesn't have to pick sides based on what genes she did or didn't inherit from her parents. I came to tell you that I'm ready now to help fight for that better world, and it would seem that Professor Xavier's School is as fitting a place as any to embark on that goal." Wanda finished.

"Well, you've just recruited your first supporter in your reinvigorated objective." Hank enthusiastically told her, as he took her by the hand.

"I love you, Henry McCoy. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me for how I've hurt you?" Wanda now asked her husband, as they stood together in front of the window by Professor Xavier's desk in his study.

"I love you too. And as for your other point, you needn't even ask." Hank told her, as the two of them embraced and passionately kissed one another. Then Hank and Wanda stood looking out of the large window in the study for a brief moment, both of them envisioning that better world which they had just been discussing. Together.

----------------------------

While Hank and Wanda were talking and resolving the issues that had kept them apart for so long, Rogue was making her way from the lower levels of the school up to the ground floor. After exiting from inside of the elevator, she went into the large living room in the mansion where the majority of its residents were now gathered.

"Hey, Roguey-Rogue." Jubilee said, as she stood next to Bobby and Logan in the living room, while Alison was the lone adult currently sitting on one of the sofas by the younger students. All of the students were seated in various places in the room, either on the sofas, smaller seats, or on the floor.

"Hi, Jube." Rogue replied, as she walked over to an area behind one of the sofas where they were standing.

Then, the individual with whom Rogue herself had just resolved issues with less than twenty-four hours ago spoke to her.

"Hi, Rogue." Bobby warmly greeted her, glancing over at Rogue and then turning his attention back to the news on the television.

"Oh…Hi, Bobby." Rogue uneasily replied. Although everything that needed to be said between them had been vocalized the night before, Rogue and Bobby were now left with the complicated question of where their relationship was supposed to go from there.

"Say darlin', I forgot to tell you last night that I got a message from Mariko yesterday." Logan now said to Rogue.

"Really? That's awesome!" Rogue excitedly replied.

"Remind me to play it for you later. A lot of it was meant for yours truly, but she did have some words for you. And for the Cajun too." Logan told her.

"Okay." Rogue responded, as one of the individuals in front of them then delivered a question to the group, which had been on her mind the entire morning.

"So, when're all of ye gonna go 'n show these Sentinels who's boss?" Theresa Cassidy asked, as the red-head turned around on the sofa to face the older group assembled behind her.

"Soon, real soon." Bobby very enthusiastically replied.

"You got that right, kid." Logan said to Bobby, as he very much agreed with his sentiment. Then, Logan turned back to Rogue to ask her something, "Speakin' of which, what's the latest from Chuck 'n One-Eye on us goin' to recycle these walkin' garbage cans?"

"They've been goin' through a ton of maps of Washington, tryin' to pinpoint where the Sentinels have landed in the city. They're tryin' to analyze the best course of action, and Scott actually asked me to come find Ororo while Ah was up here so the three of 'em could hammer out a final battle plan." Rogue answered him.

"Good." Logan told her, when two more individuals made their entrance into the living room.

Kitty and Peter came in after journeying there from the opposite side of the school where the computer lab was, and they instantly drew the attention of some of the younger students in the room.

"Kitty, where'd you run off to?" Dani stood up and asked her first.

"We were looking all over the school for you." Amara added, as she was sitting next to Dani.

"You really scared us." Jaime also said, as he sat next to Sam.

"Hey guys, maybe we should save the third-degree for a little later." Alison said to the students, as she now stood up from the sofa where she had been seated and spoke to them.

"It's alright Alison." Kitty said to her, as she and Peter stood just inside of the large doorframe.

"How are you feeling?" Alison inquired, as she was still concerned about Kitty following her hasty departure from class.

"I'm feeling better now." Kitty told her.

"Are you sure?" Alison continued asking.

"Positive." Kitty now smiled, as she briefly glanced up at Peter next to her.

"Ah'm gonna go see if Ah can find Ororo." Rogue announced to the group that she had been standing with, as she now started across the room.

"I saw her a little while ago in the kitchen with Remy and Kurt." Alison imparted to her. Rogue acknowledged Alison's disclosure with a slight nod, as she passed by the sofa towards another doorway on the other side of the room.

Back over by the entrance where Kitty and Peter were standing, another pair of entrants came in, as the main room now seemed to edge closer to its maximum capacity.

"I was wonderin' where you'd gotten to McCoy?" Logan said to him, as Hank and Wanda both entered the room.

"I was merely having a most felicitous meeting of the minds with the stunning individual to my right, and we recently adjourned to ascertain what the latest happenings from the District of Columbia are." Hank told Logan.

"With all of those million-dollar words, I'm gonna assume you're talkin' about what we've been watchin' on TV." Logan said in response, "You gonna introduce me to your lady-friend or what?"

"Certainly, I'd like you to meet the lovely Mrs. McCoy." Hank informed Logan.

"You never said anything about being married Dr. McCoy." Bobby said to him.

Just then, Megan came running into the room and immediately went over to Wanda, who was standing with Hank, Logan and the others.

"We were walking around the school together, when she heard your voice in here from out in the hallway." Pietro said to Hank, as he was next to walk into the room.

"Did you miss us?" Wanda looked down and asked Megan, who was standing with her arms wrapped around her mother's waist.

"A little bit." Megan non-chalantly replied.

"Just a little bit?" Wanda keenly continued to inquire.

"Okay, a whole bunch." Megan finally admitted, still holding on to her mother tightly as she moved over to stand at Wanda's side.

"Doesn't she remind you a little of Illyana?" Peter asked Kitty, as he commented about the little sister whom he missed quite a bit. He made his remark in a voice low enough that only Kitty heard him, as she responded by nodding her head in agreement with him.

"Beast has a wife? That is just too cool!" Jubilee remarked, "How'd you two meet anyways?"

"When I first saw her, I thought she was the most beautiful creature that I had ever laid eyes on." Hank answered, "So, I went over to inform her of my adulatory sentiments."

"And what did you say?" Jubilee asked Wanda, who couldn't help but smile when she thought back to that first meeting.

"She didn't say anything. Instead, she punched me as hard as she could." Hank happily added.

"That fresh mouth of yours'll get ya in trouble every time, McCoy." Logan jokingly prodded him.

"In his defense, it happened during a more misguided period of my youth." Wanda now said to Logan.

"You could say our misguided youth." Pietro added to her response.

"Mommy, why did you hit Daddy?" Megan abruptly and somewhat worriedly asked her mother.

"Oh honey, we were much younger then. You don't have to worry about anything like that happening anymore." Wanda replied, as she stroked Megan's hair and tried to explain that part of her past in a way that would calm her daughter.

"Let's hope so." Hank quipped, as he mockingly put his hand up to his face and rubbed his jaw.

"Wait a minute, I recognize you guys now!" Jubilee suddenly said, as she recognized the brother and sister pair, "You're Wanda and Pietro Lensherr, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. I remember reading about you guys in the X-Men's info database."

"You are correct." Pietro told her.

"And who says I just sleep during class." Jubilee acutely remarked.

"Lensherr? That means you're related to Magneto?" Bobby inquired.

"Unfortunately, He is mine and Wanda's father." Pietro confirmed.

"It said that you guys used to be part of the Brotherhood with him, and that later on you quit. But, it didn't say anything else about you after that." Jubilee continued.

"We followed our father for a time when we were teenagers, both out of a sense of loyalty to him and because he can be eloquently persuasive when he wants to be." Wanda told her.

"No kidding." Bobby said, as he thought about his close friend who had not too long ago left them to follow Magneto's cause.

"We did eventually realize the error of our ways, and absolutely refused to have anything further to do with him or with his anti-human crusade." Wanda further explained.

"After we left the Brotherhood for good, my sister and myself had our names legally changed from Lensherr to Maximoff. Which is why suspect that nothing further is said in Xavier's records about Wanda and Pietro Lensherr." Pietro concluded.

"Well, I guess you can always leave it to the smart guys to fall for the wild ones." Jubilee now said, as she glanced over at Hank to tease him a little.

"You know, we could say the same thing about you and Doug." Bobby now needled her, as he turned the tables on Jubilee who couldn't find anything to say to him in response.

"Rogue, you wasn't lyin' when you said de whole house was in here." Remy loudly said, as he, Rogue, Ororo, and Kurt now came in from the opposite side of the room, "I ain't seen a crowd like dis since Mardi Gras dis year."

"Then you should feel right at home, 'Gumbo'." Logan commented to Remy from his side of the room.

"True dat." Remy gladly verified, "Since we talkin' 'bout New Orleans, maybe we all make a trip down there for next year's festivities?"

"And how do you think the local residents would react to such an eclectic group as ours descending upon your fair city?" Kurt jested with Remy, as he stood next to him on his left.

"Truth be told, us folks down there done seen t'ings a lot stranger than anyt'ing goin' on 'round here." Remy replied, as he looked back at Kurt.

The spirit in the room now was actually starting to shift from the grim and very serious mood that everyone in the house had been feeling, ever since the disconcerting news report that morning. But, it was a feeling that wouldn't last for very long. Everyone in the living room suddenly stopped talking almost simultaneously a few minutes later, when their attention was uncontrollably drawn to the doorway behind Wanda, Hank, and Pietro.

"I hate to be the one to break things up, but I need the team to report down to the War Room ASAP for an emergency meeting." Scott said, as he came and stood just inside of the large wooden doorframe.

"I thought we were going to settle on a final strategy first?" Ororo said to Scott, as she walked towards him from the opposite side of the room.

"That was the plan, but now it looks like we're going to have to scrap our previous ideas and start over from scratch." Scott told her.

"And why's that, Cyke?" Logan inquired.

"Because, a very recent development in this already disturbing scenario has just further complicated the situation that we're facing." Scott cryptically told all of them.

------------------------------------

Next Chapter: **The Gathering**…

------------------------------------

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter--

**TheDreamerLady**- I'm going to assume that you liked the last chapter. As far as Bobby and Northstar, I don't really see that one happening in this story.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you liked all of the confrontation/angst, of course it was bound to happen sooner or later. Once everything that's currently going on right now settles down, Rogue and Gambit are definitely going to have a night out on the town that'll blow their last date away. It'll be coming up in a future chapter.

**randommarvelfan**- I'm glad you love everything, and I hope you liked the way that Kitty's nightmare tied into this chapter. I'm also glad you liked the developments between Storm and Forge, they were one of my fav's from way back when too.

**Episodic**- Sorry about the length, but I'm glad you liked a version of Magneto that went beyond him being a simple villain. You're right, loose ends were being tied up in the last and in this chapter, since things in the action department are about to pick way up. And I hope you liked Wanda's connection into all of this.

**plutospawn**- Glad you liked everything, including Forge/Storm and with Bobby. Even though Gambit's in the picture, I didn't see the need to necessarily portray Bobby as the bad guy, since in most relationships there can be complex reasons as to why things don't work out.

**Jean1**- I'm glad you liked how Rogue and Bobby finally settled things between them. I don't know if Bobby's really being built up to be the next Scott in the movies. From what I could see, they kind of took comic Iceman's rebellious and practical-joking personality, and gave it to Pyro. Bobby was left with the ice powers, but not a whole lot else in respect to his comic counterpart. Bobby did seem to be very intelligent and he does have a level head, which are very good leadership qualities. But to me, he seems to have more of a team-player attitude than the drive necessary for a leadership role. Rogue and Pyro both seemed to display more of a 'take charge' attitude, especially at the end of X2, what with Pyro deciding that Xavier's vision may not be the one that he wanted to follow. I also noticed that it was Rogue who decided to fly the Blackbird and rescue the others, even though she had absolutely no experience or qualifications to do so.

Speaking of Rogue, I think in the comics it was mentioned a couple of times that Rogue had leadership potential, she just seemed to lack maturity in her early days on the team. IIRC, I believe there was even an issue just a few years ago where she was voted to lead the team by her teammates, including characters like Bishop and Sage who on paper would seem to have better qualifications for the job.

**El Varon**- Special thanks for the reviews, and I'm glad that you like how I've tried to tie stuff from the comics into these stories.

**Digital Tempest**- I'm glad you liked the last chapter and the complexity given to developments between Rogue and Bobby. It just seemed more natural to me that way too.

**Blacknight369**- Thanks for the review, and I'm glad that you like the inclusion of Remy and everything else that's happening in and around the mansion. I hope you continue to enjoy.


	10. The Gathering

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

Chapter 10- The Gathering

For the X-Men, it seemed almost unbelievable that current circumstances could get any worse than they already were. After all, that morning they had seen the Sentinels, large robots designed for the express purpose of tracking, capturing, and eliminating mutants world-wide, take control of Washington D.C. and proceed to announce that they had captured the President of the United States. But, Scott Summers had just informed them minutes earlier that things had indeed taken a further turn for the worse.

Now in the early hours of the afternoon, all of the adults and the senior students at the school were gathering in the War Room, located far below its ground level. They were about to learn the exact details of what one of the X-Men's field commanders had been talking about.

"I'm tellin' ya, if those Sentinels've decided to drop this whole 'take over the world idea' just so they can put on their own reality show, I really will be ready to fight." Jubilee sarcastically remarked, as she and the other older residents slowly filed into the X-Men's underground meeting and strategy chamber.

"Jubilation, I doubt very seriously that we will be that fortunate." Ororo Munroe responded, as she came in right behind Jubilee.

As everyone continued to filter in, they were all met by Professor Charles Xavier. Professor Xavier had come into the War Room not too long after the initial news of the takeover was first broadcast, and was carefully assessing everything that was occurring. As the assemblage continued, Professor Xavier immediately took notice of the most recent arrivals to the school as they entered the War Room.

"Wanda, Pietro, I must say that I was somewhat surprised when I saw your arrival earlier this morning. But I was no less thrilled by your return." Professor Xavier said, as he looked at the brother/sister pair who had come into the War Room along with Hank, Peter, Logan, Kitty, and Kurt.

"And it appears that me and my sister are staying true to form, with trouble seemingly coming along with us." Pietro Maximoff drolly replied.

As everyone continued to chat, Rogue, Remy, Alison and Scott were the last ones to enter. Scott quickly made his way in and took his place at the front area of the War Room, with the huge multi-purpose monitor that was mounted on the wall directly behind him. He began to go over some last minute information that was cued up on the small data screen on the podium in front of him, but abruptly stopped when Alison came up to speak to him.

"From the way you made it sound a few minutes ago, today just keeps going from bad to worse." Alison Blaire said to Scott, as she walked over and stood next to him to converse briefly.

"That's a fairly accurate way of putting it." Scott replied, as he paused to look up from the podium at her, "You know, even though I told everyone I needed them down here, you didn't just have to come. Especially, since you've said you're not interested in joining the active roster. Most of what we're going to cover is mission preparation and other related materials, which I'm sure can be pretty boring to the casual observer."

"It's alright. With that build-up you delivered upstairs, I just had to come down here to watch you in action for myself." Alison told Scott, as she gazed up at him with a rather reserved smile.

"Oh. In that case, I'm glad that I've managed to get you so interested." Scott happily replied.

"With everything that's happened in the last few hours, a girl can't really help but be preoccupied by it." Alison said to him, as she tried to peer into Scott's eyes, but only caught a glimpse of her own reflection in his ruby-quartz shades.

Alison then started to walk around behind him, so that she could go to the other side of the room and take a seat. But on her way, Alison stopped once again and turned back slightly to peer over her left shoulder, making one last comment to Scott.

"You know, I don't see how you could think anything you have to say would be boring. If the pep talk you gave me the other night is any indication, I'm sure that your performance here will really take my breath away." Alison semi-seductively said to him, in a voice that was naturally raspy in its tone. She then turned back and continued descending down the small number of steps in front of the podium, so that she could rejoin the rest of the group as they took their seats.

Meanwhile Scott, a man who seemingly possessed nerves of steel, was for a split-second caught off-guard by the slightly flirtatious tone of Alison's last remark.

Not that he minded of course, as a musing grin appeared on Scott's face while he watched Alison sit down next to Pietro, Wanda and Hank.

At any rate, since everyone had for the most part settled into their seats in front of him, Scott was now ready to begin the briefing.

"So, what's the big mystery you were talkin' about?" Rogue asked Scott, as she started off the meeting by asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"As you know, we've been carefully monitoring events in Washington since this morning." Scott replied to Rogue, and to the rest of the room as well, "After I sent you to go get Ororo, the Professor and myself continued our observation of various video satellite feeds, as well as military communications to stay apprised of the latest news. That's when we picked up a message, which I'm going to play for everyone now. It's from SHIELD, and the fact that they even broadcasted it over an open air channel instead of a more secure transmission signal should give you an indication of just how serious this situation has become."

_"This is Lieutenant General Jake Fury, Director General of the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Division, sending out an urgent distress call for assistance. The SHIELD airborne carrier has come under attack by large robotic beings, possibly the same ones reportedly launching another current offensive against Washington D.C. Our regular communication channels have been effectively jammed and if anyone is able to receive this message, please relay the following coordinates and current trajectory of the heli-carrier to SHIELD high command. A counter-offensive is already underway here, but our computer systems have been compromised and with the bulk of our forces currently dispatched to the emergency in Washington, it's unclear on how long we'll be able to..."_

The message then abruptly cutoff, and the entire room listened for a few seconds to the sound of dead air on the radio frequency. After a moment of silence to digest what they had just heard, one of the X-Men finally spoke.

"Oh my stars and garters." Henry McCoy was the first to say.

"Why would the Sentinels attack Washington, and then go after this heli-carrier?" Bobby Drake was next to ask.

"Because, they're a buncha hostage-taking, carrier-jacking, purple thugs that think they can do whatever they want." Kitty Pryde very sharply remarked.

"So far, that definitely appears to be the case. The Sentinels have been following a very methodical course of action, and all evidence now suggests that their attack on Washington was an elaborate and well-executed diversion. It seems that capturing the heli-carrier was their main objective all along." Scott responded, "It should have been obvious to us from the outset that the Sentinels were up to something. They only bothered to secure control of the area around the White House, while ignoring other equally important targets in Washington like the U.S. Capitol building and the Pentagon."

"What I do not understand is why this heli-carrier is so important?" Peter Rasputin now inquired.

"The SHIELD heli-carrier is a gigantic and well-fortified flying battle fortress. It possesses some of the latest and most sophisticated weaponry in existence, and in the wrong hands it could be used to launch substantial military attacks worldwide. In the Sentinels case, it could very well be used in strikes specifically targeting mutants. A worst-case scenario suggests that it could conceivably be remodeled into an aerial Sentinel factory, churning out hundreds of Sentinels over populated areas. And with the ultimatum that Mastermold made warning against any military action towards them, SHIELD and other armed forces probably won't make a move to take the heli-carrier back until the President's safety is assured." Scott revealed.

"Then dat means we go find dis t'ing and take it back for them, before de Sentinels get a chance t'start takin' shots at us wit' it." Remy Lebeau suggested, as he sat next to Rogue in the room.

"It's not quite that simple. On top of being heavily-armed, the heli-carrier is also employing some of the most effective radar and shielding devices in use, making it virtually impossible to sneak into." Scott informed them.

"Then how do you propose that we stop it, if we are unable to get onboard?" Kurt Wagner asked, sitting in between Logan and Kitty.

"We are already working on that particular detail. From the coordinates that were relayed in its mayday for help, the heli-carrier apparently is still over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Its reported trajectory is, however, bringing it back towards the east coast of the United States." Professor Xavier answered, "But, we think that we may have struck upon an idea, one which will hopefully provide us with a means of tracking it and bypassing its defensive grid."

"Like, can we rewind a minute for those of us not fluent in army?" Jubilee requested, "If this heli-carrier thingy is so dangerous, why leave it sitting out in the middle of the ocean to begin with? Shouldn't they take it and lock it up somewhere safe?"

"Not if they want to use it for any practical purpose. To better react to potential crisis as they arise, SHIELD's heli-carrier has to remain in a state of full deployment for a majority of the year." Scott replied.

Then, some others in the room who happened to be fairly knowledgeable on this, as well as a variety of other subjects, decided to provide a little background information for Jubilee and her fellow classmates.

"SHIELD was originally formed in the years following World War II, as an international law enforcement division working under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council." Professor Xavier began, "Their primary mission is to root out and prevent criminal activity on a global scale. Most in particular, they are mainly concerned with terrorist operations undertaken by the elusive organization known as HYDRA."

"HYDRA is the world's foremost and exceptionally pervasive terrorist and criminal network, bent on nothing less than global domination." Hank continued, "They have attempted to accomplish this goal both through subterfuge and subversion, as well as by actively endeavoring to topple free and democratic societies. As the decades passed, HYDRA began splintering off into independent and sometimes competing factions located on every continent. Logical deduction would assume that SHIELD needed a means to remain highly mobile to confront HYDRA with a substantial presence of their own, thus necessitating the creation of their heli-carrier."

"Hope the long version cleared everything up for ya, 'Mallrat'." Logan then amusingly ribbed Jubilee.

"Yeah, all the 'Spy vs. Spy' stuff is completely crystal now." Jubilee replied, as she blew a large bubble with her chewing gum, and then let it pop loudly before finishing her response, "Just like a bottle of expensive mineral water, 'Bub'."

At that moment, another person entered the War Room who had been fairly conspicuous with his absence.

"Ororo told me about the meeting, but I wanted to finish running some last minute diagnostics on both Blackbirds before I came down here." Forge said, as he came in from the estate's underground hangar areas to join the group.

"How are things coming along?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"I was up most of the night, and then back up early this morning getting both planes back together. They're ready to go now, and with what's happening in D.C., it looks like I finished just in time too." Forge revealed, "All that's needed is for one of them to be taken out for a test flight."

"Then, you'll get a chance to test them out this afternoon." Scott said, "I've been in touch with Lorna and Alex, and they've expressed an interest in wanting to help. Ororo, will you rendezvous with them in California and with Sean in South Dakota, and bring them all back here?"

"Certainly." Ororo replied, as she sat next to Rogue and Remy.

"I think I'll go with you. It'll give me a chance to watch you put the Blackbird through its paces, and to make sure that everything is functioning correctly." Forge said to Ororo.

"Once they have returned, then what will be our next move?" Peter asked Scott.

"More than likely, we're going to have to divide everyone into two teams, with one team being led by me and the other one led by Ororo. One team will go to Washington to help get the President to safety, so that the military can move to take back the city. Meanwhile, the other team will try to locate the heli-carrier and stop the Sentinels that are on board. The Sentinels were planning against a big military response, so hopefully they won't be expecting a small group to hit them head on." Scott informed everyone, "We'll start putting together a roster detail once this meeting is over, and I'll let everyone know what their assignments are once when we've finished."

With that the meeting soon adjourned, leaving the members of the X-Men with the task of once again sitting and waiting. As they started to file out of the War Room, Wanda, Pietro, and Hank stayed behind to talk with Professor Xavier, Scott, and Ororo about Magneto's recent visit. Meanwhile, two of the other individuals walking out began to discuss how they would pass the next few hours.

"So, what you got planned for de rest of dis afternoon, _Cheré_?" Remy asked Rogue, as the couple stopped to talk with one another in the hallway outside of the War Room.

"Ah think Ah'm going to go workout in the Danger Room for awhile." Rogue revealed, as everyone continued by to make their way to other various parts of the mansion.

"You want some company in there? You know, someone t'watch dat beautiful backside of yours?" Remy inquired of her.

"Well, all Ah was going to do was go through a pretty standard sparring session with a computer simulator." Rogue replied.

"In dat case, how do you feel 'bout testin' your skills out on a livin', breathin' opponent instead?" Remy suggested.

"What, are you sayin' you want to fight me in there?" Rogue asked, as she was somewhat surprised by his proposal.

"Nah. It's like you said, this is just a sparrin' session. That is, unless you scared t'trade hits wit' de man you so deeply in love wit'?" Remy replied, as he managed to rouse her sensibilities a bit.

"**Ha**! What makes you think Ah'd be scared to knock you down a peg or two?" Rogue coyly replied, "Besides, since we've never actually faced one another, this'll give me a chance to get a better look at you."

"You ain't gotta wait, you can get a good look at me anytime you want." Remy flirtatiously told her.

"Ah meant your fightin' ability." Rogue giggled slightly.

"Okay then, and I even promise to go easy. I don't t'ink I could live wit' myself if I accidentally bruised dat pretty face of yours." Remy sarcastically told her, as he continued egging on the conversation.

"You don't have to worry about taking it easy on me. If anything, you should be more concerned your pretty face, than about mine." Rogue responded in kind, "After Ah go change, Ah'll grab your quarterstaff and my katana blade in the armory, and Ah'll meet you in the Danger Room in about ten minutes."

"Damn, you talk like you ain't gonna be playin' around." Remy jokingly said to her.

"That's because playtime's strictly for the playground. When this girl does play, it's only for keeps." Rogue said with a huge smile, as she came over and stood very close to Remy.

"Don't be late, Sugah." Rogue whispered into his ear, before heading down the corridor to the girl's locker room.

**………………………………**

More than a dozen minutes later, in what had become the very late hours of the afternoon, Remy strolled into the Danger Room now dressed in a sleeveless gray t-shirt and navy sweatpants. Once inside, he took a look up to the control booth above and saw that Rogue was standing in front of the Danger Room's control panel.

"You ready t'get dis show on de road?" Remy called up to her.

"Yeah, Ah'm comin' down now." Rogue answered him over the speakerphone system, as she keyed the last of her commands into the Danger Room's computer.

In less than two minutes, Rogue had set the training sequence in the control booth and had then made her way down to join Remy. She entered the Danger Room holding a sword in her right hand and a small steel rod in her left. Rogue was wearing a medium-green, body glove-style suit trimmed in white. The reason for her wearing this spandex suit and matching gloves, which almost covered her entire body, was to protect both her and Remy from accidentally making skin-to-skin contact during their training session.

"Initiate program." Rogue called out, as she continued inside. The very room around her and Remy then started to suddenly change in its appearance. Gone was the large and empty metallic training area with a dome-shaped roof, now replaced by a setting that appeared to be that of a large city. And the particular city that Rogue had chosen as a backdrop for their training session wasn't a mere coincidence either.

"Dis looks just like Bourbon St. back home, 'cept I never seen it abandoned like dis during de day or at night." Remy said, as he instantly recognized the artificial surroundings that were being replicated before his very eyes, "You didn't have to go to all of dis trouble just for me?"

"It wasn't any trouble. Forge and Beast have already pre-loaded hundreds of different environments, including a ton of cities from around the world, into the Danger Room's software." Rogue explained, "Ah just figured since you kept goin' on and on about bein' back home, that you must be feelin' a little homesick. Plus, the least Ah can do is give you some familiar pavement to look at, before Ah drag you across it."

"You soundin' mighty confident about manhandlin' poor lil' me." Remy smirked.

"Well, Ah did spend hours on end trainin' on my fighting skills with Logan." Rogue responded.

"And your point, _Mon Cheré_?" Remy asked her.

"He was good enough to knock you out, if Ah remember correctly." Rogue happily reminded him.

"You got your facts a little mixed up. Wildman may've knocked me down, but not out." Remy challenged her assertion.

"Annndd…the difference is?" Rogue teasingly asked him.

"There a world of difference!" Remy protested, "Gambit ain't ever been knocked out. Not by anyone!"

"You know they say there's a first time for everything." Rogue smiled, as she now tossed the small steel pole that she had been holding in her left hand to Remy. With the touch of a single button, the shaft in Remy's hand immediately extended into a quarterstaff, which measured nearly six feet in length.

"Dis new fightin' staff puts my old one to shame, what wit' all de improvements I've been able to make to it since I got here." Remy told her, as he began to spin his staff around in his right hand, "Now before we begin, why don't we put a wager down on dis little showdown, just t'make t'ings a little more interestin'?"

"Like what?" Rogue curiously inquired, as she pulled her sword out from its protective sheath.

"How about de winner gets a kiss?" Remy responded.

"Considerin' what my kisses are liable to do to you, Ah can't see how you'd think that you'd be winnin' anything." Rogue answered him.

"It just depends on your point-of-view. Me, I'm a glass is half-full kinda guy." Remy told her.

"Uh-oh, look out everybody. Remy Lebeau's about to get all philosophical on us." Rogue amusingly replied.

"There ain't nothin' wrong wit' me havin' a moment every now 'n then." Remy declared, as Rogue then got into a fighting stance with her katana blade in both hands in front of her, "So, you finally ready?"

"Hit me with your best shot." Rogue eagerly replied.

Gambit then stopped twirling the staff in his hand and immediately ran towards her, jumping up and performing a somersault in mid-air. He landed right behind Rogue and quickly swung his staff at her legs in an attempt to, aptly enough, sweep her off of her feet.

Rogue however was able to match Gambit when it came to quick reflexes, as she also jumped up into the air and let his staff pass harmlessly underneath her. Then, she landed on the ground and spun back around with her katana in hand to face Gambit.

"**Hee-yah**!" Rogue loudly shouted, as she struck at him with her sword.

But not to be outdone, Gambit showed Rogue that he was more than adept enough to react accordingly, and masterfully blocked her sword blow with his metal staff.

"Not bad. Your fightin' form is comin' along beautifully, just like all yo' other forms." Gambit flirtatiously said to Rogue, as they stood in the middle of the simulated street and faced each other with sword and staff crossing together in between them.

"You almost sound impressed." Rogue replied, as she drew her sword away from his staff and took a few steps backwards to reset herself into a new fighting stance.

"I am, but I really wanna see what else you got." Gambit said, as he now made small glancing strikes with his staff towards Rogue on her left and right sides, which she easily blocked.

"Ah think Ah got more than enough to handle you." Rogue confidently told him, as this time she was the one who went on the offensive and now began striking at Gambit with her sword.

She delivered blow after blow, to his left, to his right, and there were even a few swings aimed at his chest and knee level. But, Gambit effortlessly rebuffed her barrage with his solid metal staff, as the weapons that had been reinforced with vanadium steel struck repeatedly and produced loud clanking sounds that rang out in the simulated environment. But, what Rogue hadn't realized was that Gambit had been merely biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to make his next offensive move.

"Well, _Cheré_, since you so fond of rememberin' me and my less than shinin' moment in Japan, I t'ink it's time I remind you of somethin' else from over there too." Gambit said to Rogue, as he firmly planted his staff on the ground close by her. Then in one fluid motion, he quickly spun around on the pole and forcefully kicked her sword out of her hand.

Weaponless, Rogue was left with the task of proving that she was still capable of defending herself, even if she was unarmed. She managed to do quite well in dodging and blocking Gambit's staff blows, as he pursued her up from the street and onto the sidewalk of the faux Bourbon St. setting. Still, Rogue almost managed to best her opponent without the aid of her blade. She countered his staff attacks with a few standing roundhouse kicks that nearly connected with his face, missing their mark by mere inches. After a few more minutes of avoiding his thrusting advances, Gambit was finally able to land a single severe blow to Rogue's side, which momentarily knocked the wind out of her.

Gambit then swooped around behind Rogue while she was still temporarily unawares, certain now that he had achieved a checkmate in their training bout. Gambit wrapped his arms around Rogue and restrained her in a solid embrace with his staff, as he held the lengthy pole in front of the two of them and pressed it against her upper abdomen with both of his hands.

"Now when we was standin' outside of dat hotel in Tokyo, I recall tellin' you dat I still had a lot t'teach you. And I'd say I just proved my point beyond a shadow of a doubt, _non_?" Gambit said to Rogue, as he managed to immobilize her with his staff and held her very close in front of him.

"Ah guess that's one way of putting it." Rogue less than enthusiastically told him, as she continued looking forward, unable to turn around because of the firm grasp that Gambit had her in with his staff.

"At any rate, you gotta admit dat de two of us standin' here all intimate-like is pretty cozy?" Gambit warmly asserted, as he whispered his remark into her ear.

"It is nice, but then again…" Rogue paused, as she surprised him by kicking him in the left shin with her foot, which loosened his tight grip around her body.

With Rogue's arms now free, it allowed her to elbow Gambit in his rib cage and then grab hold of his staff. She continued moving in an extremely swift manner, as she used both of her hands to forcefully flip the staff up and overhead. Since Gambit was still maintaining a fairly solid grip on the quarterstaff, both he and his weapon traveled headlong in a semi-circular motion through the air together.

Gambit then emphatically hit the ground with a loud thud, as he landed on the street flat on his back. Rogue wasted no time in jumping up and over to land on top of him, with his staff now firmly in her possession.

"…this is just as comfortable too!" Rogue remarked, as she sat and straddled herself across Gambit's middle torso, now pinning him down with his own fighting staff, "Guess Ah'm not the only one who could stand to be taught a thing or two?"

"So, do you call dis de 'Teacher's position', _Cheré_?" Remy happily remarked, as he looked up at the girl on top of him with a huge smile, "If dis is my reward for a lesson well learned, then I imagine I should let you beat me up more often."

"It's not like you have to go and pick a fight with me, if all you want is me on top of you." Rogue responded in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, as she looked down at him.

After sitting like that for a while, Remy and Rogue decided to end their session and call it a draw. Rogue then unpinned Remy and proceeded to help him up from the ground, as the holographic scene in the Danger Room disappeared and the room went back to its empty default state.

**……………………………...**

While Remy and Rogue were wrapping up their training session, Jubilee was making her way back from the kitchen. She had finally gotten the chance to get her soda, the same one that she had originally planned to come for a couple of hours ago. As Jubilee then continued from the kitchen down the hallway and towards the staircase, she passed by the student's recreation room. Almost immediately, she felt a presence following behind her.

"What's up Artie?" Jubilee turned around, as she warmly greeted one of the youngest students at the school, Artie Maddocks, as he stood right behind her.

But instead of replying verbally, Artie made his response using the sign language that he had learned while at Xavier's. Although he could hear perfectly, for some reason that was most likely due to his mutation, Artie had been left mute. To compensate, he had been taught alternative ways that would allow him to communicate with others around him. And for reasons that were all her own, Jubilee had volunteered to help tutor Artie in learning to sign, as well as other school subjects.

In the hallway, he formed various gestures with his hands and Jubilee soon responded to the query that Artie had posed to her.

"Sorry, but I can't help you practice with your signing today. Something's come up, and I need to take care of a few things." Jubilee told him, as she stood dressed in a yellow lightweight sweater that she had made herself, and a pair of black capris.

"But you promised." Artie signed back in response.

"I know, and I promise I'll help you learn a buncha more new words. You know I wouldn't break one of our tutoring sessions, unless it was for something really important." Jubilee tried to explain.

Then Artie paused for a moment, before he signed his next statement to her.

"It's because you're going to go with Miss Munroe and Mr. Summers to fight the robots?" Artie asked her.

"Yep, you pretty much guessed it." Jubilee answered.

"I don't want you to go. You might get hurt." Artie worriedly communicated to her.

"C'mon, I'll be fine." Jubilee told him.

"But, what if you go away and you don't come back? Just like Miss Grey did?" Artie asked with another hand gesture.

Jubilee and the rest of the X-Men were fully aware of the danger that they were preparing to face. But, Artie's statement reminded her of that horrible day when people, mutant and human alike all around the world, nearly died. It also reminded her that at Alkali Lake one of their own did, bringing home that actualization in a way that Jubilee hadn't been expecting.

"Don't worry Artie, everything'll be alright. I promise." Jubilee said, trying to assuage him.

"Do you promise-promise?" Artie signed, as she still hadn't fully assured him.

"Pinky-swear promise." Jubilee gladly answered, as she linked her smallest finger with Artie's to make her pledge official.

With their pact now exchanged, Artie's worries had been somewhat alleviated for the time being. He then spun back around and headed into the student's recreation room. As Jubilee watched him scurry off, the sound of the doorbell ringing at the front door could be heard throughout the front of the house. Since she was the closest to it, Jubilee went ahead to go greet whoever had come a knocking. At the same time, Artie's return to the rec-room was also met by a greeting, which came from one Megan McCoy.

"Told you, you were gonna miss the best part." Megan told him, as she was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa.

The pair had been watching another one of her favorite cartoon programs on TV, Jimmy Neutron-Boy Genius. Artie however didn't sign anything in response to Megan's comment, and simply went to sit down on the floor next to her so that he could resume watching the show too.

"My Mom told me that your school was for people that are different just like her, my Dad, and my Uncle." Megan said, as she continued talking to Artie, "She said they don't know yet if I'm gonna be special like them. I guess you must be if you're already here, but you don't look all that different to me."

Artie finally decided to respond to her, and turned to face Megan. He proceeded to stick his tongue out at her, which was blue and fork-shaped so that he could accentuate to her exactly what it was that made him different from most everyone else.

"That's not so special, I can stick my tongue out too. See, look." Megan said, as she returned the gesture by sticking her own tongue out at Artie. In addition, Megan also made a funny face to compliment her action, and Artie couldn't help but smile as a result.

Then the two members of the neXt generation turned their attention back to the television, and they went back to watching the animated show before them.

Back down the hallway from where Megan and Artie were, Jubilee had finally made it to the front door and answered it.

"Um, can I help you?" Jubilee asked, as she opened the large oak door. She was immediately taken aback when she saw a mysterious angelic figure standing in front of her.

"Maybe Miss. But that's not really the reason why I came here." He replied.

"Oookaay, then. Why don't you tell me why you are here, because you're like kinda startin' to freak me out? And it's not because of the wings either." Jubilee said, as she visually inspected the beautifully feathered appendages on his back.

"I was actually hoping that you might be able to use my help." Warren Worthington III revealed, as he and Jubilee stood on the front steps of the school, which he had at long last returned to.

**……………………………**.

Down in his laboratory below, Hank was busy working on a solution to a particular obstacle, which was currently standing in the X-Men's way.

"Have you made any progress?" Wanda asked Hank, as she now came in through the lab's sliding steel door to join her husband.

"I believe that my theory regarding this device, which would conceivably locate the SHIELD heli-carrier and then allow us to bypass its defenses is a sound one, and I've been busy thus far drafting the preliminary schematics for it. When Forge returns with the others, he and I will see if we are able to make my hypothesis a reality." Hank told her, as he continued looking at said diagram on the computer monitor in front of him. But, his train of thought was positively shattered when he briefly glanced up at Wanda, and saw that she had made a considerable change in her wardrobe.

"Well, aren't you a sight for eyes, sore or otherwise. I see that you have located and found your way into the school's wardrobe closet." Hank said in repartee, when he recognized that Wanda had put on one of the X-Men's spare black and gold leather uniforms.

"I was very serious earlier when I said that I intended to help, and this is my small way of relaying that sentiment." Wanda replied, as she went and sat at the edge of Hank's large metallic desk in the lab, "Just as much as I understand why you've always enjoyed gallivanting around in these outfits. Looks to the contrary, they are quite comfortable."

"It took a few years of trial and error, but we finally managed to create team apparel that was indeed pleasurable to wear. And with the recent addition of unstable molecules into the material, which I obtained as part of a mutually beneficial research agreement with my fellow inventive and innovative colleague Reed Richards, they are far more durable as well." Hank told her, "But as much as I'm elated to see you garbed in tight black leather, it's still nowhere near as…revealing as the attire that you at one time used to sport."

"I assume that you are referring to that atrocious bright-red leotard and matching cape that I used to wear, back when I was still following in my father's footsteps? Which is the very same outfit that I was bold enough to accessorize with a headdress that looked as though it had come straight out of a fairytale book, like the ones that I read to Megan every night at bedtime?" Wanda acknowledged, as she crossed one leg over the other while sitting on Hank's desk, and clasped both hands together at her right knee, "Tell me darling, could I have been any more obvious?"

"It certainly managed to get my undivided attention." Hank wittily retorted, as he leaned back in his chair and took his glasses off to look up at his wife, while she further reminisced on the costume that she was now slightly embarrassed to admit ever owning.

"Dear, to garner the attention of an adolescent boy all a member of the opposite sex really need do is breathe in and out on a consistent basis." Wanda amusingly shot back.

"Thinking back to my own teenage experience, I suppose that is an argument that even I would have trouble in building a case against." Hank happily replied.

While Hank and Wanda continued with their light-hearted badinage, Scott and Professor Xavier were passing by in the hallway outside and were still discussing the more serious situation to be dealt with. Having spent the majority of the day scrutinizing endless potential strategies, the two men had decided it was time to take an overdue break from the monotony of the broadcast feeds coming into the War Room.

They were now on their way up to ground level of the school, and in a day that had been seen one unforeseen occurrence after another, Scott and Professor Xavier would soon encounter one more unexpected development. It had come in the form of a winged visitor, who had managed to somehow arrive without being detected by the mansion's security system.

**……………………………**

In what was now middle of the evening, Warren and Jubilee were currently discussing everything that had been going on since that morning. They were standing in the rear of the living room as James Proudstar and Jones Davidson, now the only students left from the large crowd that had been gathered in there earlier that afternoon, sat on the sofas within.

"So, you're Angel? Guess the code-name was a no-brainer." Jubilee commented to Warren, as they watched continuing TV coverage of the standoff in Washington, "It also looks like it's gonna be my day for recognizin' former students, who seem to be totally poppin' outta the woodworks and gettin' sucked into some sorta school-reunion aura that's building around this place."

"On the subject of former teachers, do you know where the Professor is right now?" Warren asked her, as coming to see his former mentor was one of the main motivations behind his return, "Although, I can probably guess. Knowing him, I'm sure he's downstairs in the War Room as we speak." Warren said.

"You know about the War Room?" Jubilee inquired.

"Former student, remember?" Warren happily reminded Jubilee, as he looked over at her with a great smirk on his face.

"Well, duh! Somebody go and get me some ginseng, why don'tcha?" Jubilee replied, as she was able to poke fun at her own brief memory lapse.

"Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. Anyways, I bet Scott, Ororo and the Professor are downstairs right now working on some miracle plan, which'll put the world right once again." Warren whimsically remarked.

"Hmmm, I might take you up on that bet. That is, depending on what kind of odds you're giving us on succeeding." Scott now remarked to Warren, as he and Professor Xavier both came into the living room.

"Hello, Warren." Professor Xavier said, as he addressed one of his original protégés.

"Hi, Professor." Warren greeted him, in a tone far more serious now than just mere seconds ago.

"I must say that this is a most pleasant surprise, even in a day that has seen its fair share of very alarming incidents." Professor Xavier told him.

"I came because I think it's time that you and I finally talked about a few things." Warren revealed, as he wasted no time in getting to his point with the Professor.

"Come then. Scott and I were just on our way outside to the garden for a breath of fresh air, but I'm sure that he won't mind it if you accompany me out there in his stead." Professor Xavier said, as Scott nodded in agreement.

While the Professor and Warren left to go and have a few moments alone to converse, Jubilee and Scott were left in the living room together.

"So, how're things going on plans to start our own Sentinel scrap yard?" Jubilee asked Scott, as they stood and picked up the conversation that she and Warren had left off with.

"We've pretty much got a dual-attack plan together. All I'm waiting on is for Ororo to return, so I can get her input and fine-tune any last-minute details." Scott told her.

"When do you think we'll be leaving?" Jubilee asked him.

"Most likely very early in the morning, probably before sunrise. That'll give us enough time to finish our preparations, and also to bring Havok and Polaris up to speed on everything." Scott answered, as he then looked down at the watch on his wrist, "I think I'm going to head down to the dining hall. Any of you guys want to join me?"

"No thanks, I'm not hungry right now." Jones said to him, as he sat in front of the television.

"I ate earlier with the other guys." James also revealed, as he sat on another sofa.

"What about you?" Scott asked Jubilee, as he looked over to her.

"I'll be down a little later. There's a kinda important phone call that I need to go make first." Jubilee replied.

Scott then began his solo journey down the corridor towards the school's dining facility, while Jubilee turned to head up the stairs to her room. She intended to go speak to the one person who had come to mean so much to her, and in just a very short amount of time since meeting him.

**…………………………….**

"It's been a while since I've had the luxury of enjoying a view like this." Warren said, as he stood next to Professor Xavier in the school's garden area, the two of them watching the spectacular sunset at day's end.

"Then, it sounds like it has been much too long." Professor Xavier replied, commenting on the serene beauty on display before them.

"Seems to be the story of my life lately. It's taken me too long to do a lot things, like coming back here for example." Warren stated, "I just wanted to come and tell you in person how sorry I am by the fact that Worthington Enterprises got wrapped up in helping to build those Sentinels. You have to believe that I didn't have any idea about what was going on."

"I do believe you, and I take you for your word on the matter." Professor Xavier responded, as he looked up at Warren from his wheelchair.

"Thanks, even though I'm sure I've given you every reason to think otherwise." Warren responded.

"Why would you say that?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"Look at how I left things here. I thought hell would have to freeze over first, before I'd ever step foot back at this school." Warren commented.

"I don't recall stipulating that as a prerequisite for you to pay us a visit." Professor Xavier cordially stated.

"Considering how heated our last conversation here was, I figured that a new Ice Age would be necessary to cool things off at the very least." Warren figuratively stated.

"Even if that were the case, I believe that one of our current students could certainly accommodate such a process." Professor Xavier cleverly remarked, "But, I've never harbored any kind of resentment towards you for your decision to leave."

"You know before I came here, I spent a few hours just flying around. I kept wondering whether I even had a place here in Westchester anymore." Warren revealed.

"You've always had a place here with us Warren, if you wanted it." Professor Xavier adamantly told him.

"Despite the fact that I told you that I didn't want to fight for your dream anymore?" Warren queried him.

"Warren, I am a teacher, and part of that responsibility entails that I prepare my students to be able to decide for themselves what it is that they want to do with their lives." Professor Xavier told him.

"And what if I told you now that I've decided that I want to help you guys put an end to this nightmare in Washington?" Warren wanted to know.

Professor Xavier didn't reply to Warren at first. Instead, he turned his wheelchair around and began to wheel back inside, before he spoke again.

"I would say that I'm fairly certain that we have a spare uniform that would fit you." Professor Xavier said, as he continued rolling towards the mansion's entranceway that led from the garden.

"By the way, welcome home Angel."

The Professor's words continued to linger in the twilight air for some time, following his departure from the garden. In the meantime, Warren stood out there and fully extended his wings, allowing them to slowly move up and down in the evening breeze. He stayed there for a little while longer and finished watching the sun, as it made its final descent into the western horizon.

At long last, Warren felt as though he really had found his way back home.

**………………………………**

Over in the school's spacious dining hall, Scott had just entered and saw that there were only a few other individuals inside. Rogue and Remy had arrived mere minutes before him and they instantly drew the attention of Danielle Moonstar, Theresa Cassidy, and Amara Aquilla, prompting the three girls to come over and join the couple at their table. Scott proceeded in and went over to a commercial-sized refrigerator located in the school's dining facility. He removed one of the pre-made dinner platters within, and went over to one of the half dozen microwaves in the cafeteria to heat it up.

The meals for the school had been contracted by an outside catering service, and they were prepared and delivered on a daily basis. Taking into consideration that with the number of people at the school and that it was a rare occurrence for everyone to all eat at the same time, this arrangement seemed to be more sensible than the alternative, which would have been hiring a full-time cook.

At any rate, Scott brought the fine cuisine over from the microwave on a plastic carrying tray to one of the long rectangular tables in the hall and sat down by himself. But Scott's mind was still very much on the mission that he was preparing the X-Men for, and it was evidenced by the fact that he hadn't even bothered to remove the microwave-safe lid from the plate on his tray, spending the next few minutes just staring off into space. Mulling through various strategic calculations in his mind, Scott paid little attention to the meal or to his immediate surroundings. That is, until he was jarred out of his contemplative state when another individual approached the table and spoke to him. Without even looking, he knew right away who it was by her now unmistakable voice.

"Hey there, 'leader-man'. Mind if I join you?" Alison affably asked him, as she came over and stood to his right.

"Of course not." Scott replied, as looked up at Alison. Scott then quickly stood up and pulled another seat out for her, as Alison sat her tray down on the table.

"You looked like you were into some pretty heavy daydreaming there for a minute. Although with those designer shades of yours, it's kind of hard to tell." Alison told Scott, as she revealed her very careful observations of him from the other side of the dining hall.

"I was just mentally going over a few things for our mission tomorrow." Scott told her.

"Oh. If I'm disturbing you I can leave you alone, so that you can think in peace." Alison said, as she started to get up and move over to another table. But, Scott quickly reached out and gently took hold of Alison by her arm.

"It's alright, you're not bothering me. In fact, I'd really enjoy some company for a change." Scott told her.

"Okay." Alison replied, as she sat back down after Scott had unequivocally convinced her that she wasn't bothering him, "Before I came in here, I caught some of the news. They were saying it looked like the Sentinels have found a way to block all communications going into and out of the White House, and that they haven't heard from anyone inside since this morning." Alison divulged, as she took a small bite from the grilled chicken on her plate.

"Yeah, I saw that too. It looks like we'll have our work cut out just trying to get inside to help the President." Scott replied.

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Alison confidently declared.

"They didn't mention anything about the heli-carrier, though." Alison had noticed.

"Probably because the public is panicked enough as it is, and I assume that they don't see a need to add to that fear." Scott surmised.

"That makes sense." Alison replied.

"Say, we've been talking about everything else going on today, but I forgot to ask you about your first day as our brand new teacher?" Scott now inquired of her.

"Well, for the two minutes that I actually got to teach were great." Alison pointed out, "Then, one of the students came in and told us about what was happening in Washington, and class time pretty much came to a screeching halt after that. Then, another one of the students didn't take the news all that well, and I had my first official teacher emergency to deal with. For a little while, I started to wonder if someone was maybe trying to send me an omen, telling me that it was a huge mistake to put me in charge of a room full of kids? But, everything eventually turned out okay and worked itself out."

"And how do you feel about things now, as far as teaching?" Scott continued asking, as he had removed the lid from the plate covering his roast beef entrée.

"It was nerve-racking at first. But, once I got up in front of the class all of that changed, and I really did enjoy being there." Alison answered, "In some ways, it started to feel almost second nature."

"You're talking like you've found your calling." Scott told her.

"I don't know. Maybe you should wait and see how day number two goes first, before you give me your stamp of approval." Alison warmly asserted.

"Then, it sounds like you plan on sticking around with us, at least for a little while?" Scott commented.

"Yeah, I think I will be." Alison said, as a bright smile then came across her face.

"It's good to hear that." Scott replied, as a happy expression came to his face as well.

As Alison and Scott continued their intimate conversation, it was apparent that they very much enjoyed being in one another's presence. It was a fact that was also illustrated when three of the school's younger students who were sitting just a few tables over, started giggling loudly. It caused Scott and Alison to turn around and look over at them.

"Wonder what's so funny?" Alison remarked.

"With teenagers, it could be a million things." Scott responded, as he and Alison looked over at Amara, Dani, and Theresa, and then went back to talking.

One of those million things happened to be the fact that the girls had been spectators to their teachers' exclusive discourse and very much noticed the obvious chemistry between the two, even if their relationship had no where near progressed to that point yet.

**……………………………….**

Down in the War Room another of the X-Men, whose own relationship had reached that point and went far beyond, was busy expressing his innermost feelings to woman that he loved. Although, the recipient of his heart-felt message wouldn't hear what he had to say, until he sent it to her via his videophone.

"…and that's basically what's been goin' on around here with me. We'll probably be headin' out pretty soon to go take care of things in D.C., and with this heli-carrier takeover. I just didn't want to leave without sending one more message to ya. I also didn't want to leave without sayin' I love you, and lettin' you know a day hasn't gone by I haven't thought about you. Anyways, I'll talk to you again when we're finished with all of this."

Having finished his message, Logan uploaded it through his phone. Once it had been confirmed as being sent, he then closed the phone and held it in his hand. Logan then sat there on the small staircase in front of the War Room's podium for a moment. He lost himself in silent contemplation as he thought about his life, at least the fragmented sections of his past that he had been able to piece together. He also thought about Mariko Yashida, and how much of a difference that she had made in said life. Before meeting Mariko, and the X-Men for that matter, Logan simply lived from day to day and didn't given much thought or concern to settling down and establishing roots anywhere, or with anyone. But, all of that changed on a cold and snowy day, when he had a chance encounter with a teenage girl, in a less than reputable bar in rural Canada.

The younger girl had left her small hometown in Mississippi after recently discovering that she was different, and much like Logan, feeling as though she no longer fit in anywhere. Immediately upon meeting, the two kindred spirits seemed to connect with one another.

The Runaway, and The Drifter.

The Rogue, and The Wolverine.

As fate would have it, Logan and Rogue were both summarily rescued by the X-Men, mutants like themselves who had pledged to use their powers to protect the world from those that would seek to destroy it. They were both brought to a very special school in Westchester County, New York that had been founded by Professor Charles Xavier. His school had become a safe haven for those within, sheltering them from a world not yet ready to accept the fact that mutants now walked among them. It was here that Logan came to care very much about the people that resided there, feeling as though he had finally found a place that he could call home.

But in the War Room, Logan was also thinking about the fact that he and a number of those same individuals, were preparing to step into the crosshairs of a battle to save tomorrow. He knew full well the danger that was at hand, and being extremely cognizant of that, Logan hated that his family was about to run headfirst into harm's way.

As Logan continued with his ruminations, another individual who had also been thinking about some of these very same things came in to join him. He too had considered the danger that his X-Men were about to face, and had noted that it was the exact kind of threat that he had been preparing them, some of them for years now, to fight against.

"Evenin', Chuck." Logan said, as the large steel doors opened and Professor Xavier wheeled inside.

"Hello, Logan." Professor Xavier replied, "I wasn't expecting to see you back down here so soon."

"I came to see what the latest word was. When I got here and the place was all cleared out, I decided to go ahead and make an important phone call. "Logan revealed, "Short-stuff had told me before about the reception bein' pretty solid down here."

"I'm not interrupting you, am I?" Professor Xavier asked Logan.

"Nah, I'm finished." Logan answered, "I was just sittin' here and workin' through some o' my pre-fight jitters."

"I can certainly understand why you would feel uneasy about all of this." Professor Xavier commented, as he wheeled over towards the small set of steps at the front of the War Room where Logan was currently seated.

"Uneasiness ain't really the word I'd use. I suppose realistic'd be a more accurate description of my mindset." Logan clarified, "I know how things can change in a split second when you go to war, which is exactly what we're about to do. I just hope that everyone, especially the zit-brigade upstairs, fully understands that."

"I think all of us are wholly aware of that, myself especially. If I had my way, none of you would be placing yourselves in such peril, particularly those young people upstairs." Professor Xavier responded, "Today's events have reiterated the fact that sometimes we are forced to fight for what we believe in, and that sometimes we are forced to fight just for our survival. I had promised the Senior-students that if this kind of situation were to ever arise that they would be given the opportunity to join in and help, if they so wished. With that said, having seen the horrors of war first-hand it is still not a decision that I have made lightly."

"When'd you find time to go off and fight in a war?" Logan skeptically asked, as he was having a slight bit of trouble picturing the Professor in combat.

"I was drafted into the military right after college, and I served a tour of duty in Southeast Asia." Professor Xavier informed him, "After I finished basic and then officer training school, I arrived near Saigon during the waning days of the Tet Offensive."

"Yeah, then you definitely know what I'm talkin' about." Logan responded, "But, I didn't know you spent time over there?"

"It is a period of my life that I generally try not to dwell on." Professor Xavier expressed.

"Oh, is that where you…you know?" Logan nodded, as he motioned towards the Professor's wheelchair.

"No, that happened some time later, after I had been discharged." Professor Xavier revealed, which felt strange to him since it was a rarity for him to even discuss this part of his past, "On top of being sent into a conflict that had this country divided over its merits, I was thrust into what could only be described as a hellish situation. I was nowhere near ready to witness and experience such brutality, and I was as equally unprepared to have the additional challenge of coping with it all on a telepathic level. I am thankful for the fact that most of my time over there was spent leading my squadron on search and rescue missions, helping to find and bring out soldiers that had been injured and were trapped behind enemy advances in the field. A close friend even gave me the nickname of 'The Good Sheperd' for my efforts, although I have always felt that name was a bit presumptuous."

"Just take a look at what you've done around here to help rescue the lot of us Chuck, and I'd say your old nickname still fits ya perfectly." Logan poignantly remarked, as he sat back and leaned against the steps behind him.

**………………………………**

Meanwhile in the corridor right outside of the War Room, Jubilee and Warren were on the elevator as it made its way down to the lower levels. This was following another chance meeting between the two in the hallway upstairs, when Warren was making his return from the outdoor garden area. Jubilee had come back downstairs after finishing her phone call to Doug Ramsey and as they stopped to talk once again, Warren revealed that he was on his way down to the lower levels of the school. When he imparted to her the reason for his journey, Jubilee offered to accompany and assist him.

"Thanks again for offering to help modify one of the spare uniforms, so that it can accommodate my wings." Warren said, as the two of them stood together on the elevator that had just reached their sub-level destination.

"No prob. Like, everyone around here comes to yours truly for the major fashion hook-ups. All I have to do is make a couple of tapered slits in the back, and you'll be in business in no time." Jubilee replied, as the elevator door now opened in front of them, "Rogue keeps tellin' me that instead of dreamin' of headin' off to Hollywood, that I should shoot to become the next up and coming fashion designer."

"Rogue?" Warren commented, as he had no idea who or what Jubilee was talking about.

"She's my roommate, and leader of the X-Men's student squad." Jubilee informed him, as they stepped off of the elevator and started down the long metal corridor.

"Oh, okay." Warren responded to her clarification.

"Anyways, I told Rogue that why couldn't I do both? I could even design the clothes for the movies that I'm starring in. Acting, directing, and designing, I'd be a total triple threat."

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out." Warren remarked, as he and Jubilee were met by two more individuals in the corridor, both of whom were coming out of the lab.

"Warren, it's great to see you! How long have you been back?" Hank asked, as he went over and shook Warren's hand, before embracing one of his oldest friends.

"I got back about an hour ago." Warren answered, as he then turned his attention to the other person with Hank, "It's nice to see you Wanda. You're looking lovely as ever."

"Thank you, and it's wonderful to see again after so long. It seems like today is the day for long-needed reunions." Wanda said, as she went and gave Warren a hug as well, before turning back to Hank, "I'll let you two catch up, I need to go check on Megan."

"Oh, yeah. When I went to go see what Artie was up to a few minutes ago, I ran into your brother." Jubilee told Wanda, "He said the three of them were headin' to the kitchen."

"Thank you, Jubilee. Pietro must have been reading my mind, since it will be Megan's bed time soon." Wanda replied, as it was fairly late in the evening now.

"Tell Meg that I'll be up in time to say good night." Hank said, as he put his arm around Wanda and lightly kissed her on the cheek.

As Wanda continued on to the elevator, she left Warren, Jubilee and Hank in the hallway to resume their conversation.

"These lower levels have undergone a total makeover from the way they used to look when we were students." Warren observed to Hank, as they stood not too far from the elevator, "With all the improvements being made around here, I guess that's why you decided to come back and try to take over the Professor's job?"

"That was merely on an interim basis, as a favor to the Professor." Hank replied, before making his own convivial remark to Warren, "So, is Jubilee here giving you the nickel tour?"

"After Remy got through with me last night, every little bit'll help." Jubilee said in response.

"Actually, Jubilee was nice enough to come help me fix up an extra uniform to wear." Warren told Hank.

"I take it then that you will be joining us on our foray to thwart the dubious machinations of our cybernetic foes?" Hank inquired of Warren.

"If you mean am I going to go help you guys stop the Sentinels, then yes." Warren replied.

"If we don't get this uniform together, then you won't be going to stop anyone. Unless you plan on doing it in your expensive boxers?" Jubilee reminded Warren as they, plus Hank, continued on to the utility area where the spare uniforms were kept.

**………………………………**

Nearly an hour had passed, and in that time Scott had returned from his unexpected dinner date with what was slowly becoming a most intriguing individual to him. He was now back down in the War Room with Professor Xavier, as they worked towards finalizing roster assignments for the X-Men's mission. While they were talking, Scott's handheld communicator that he and all of the other X-Men carried, suddenly flashed to life.

"Cyclops here." Scott said, as he held the phone-shaped communicator up to his ear.

"Cyclops, this is Storm. I'm contacting you to let you know that the Blackbird has just entered airspace over New York, and that our ETA should be in about five minutes. We'll be docking in Hangar B." Ororo informed him over the radio channel.

"The Professor and I will come down to meet you." Scott told her.

"Oh and Scott, could you bring Theresa Cassidy and James Proudstar with you? I have a very special surprise for each of them." Ororo enigmatically requested, as she then signed off.

"What that was all about?" Scott queried the Professor, speculating on Ororo's rather vague remark.

"I imagine that we will be finding out in about five minutes." Professor Xavier replied, as Scott took his com-device and scrolled through the various names in it.

"Bobby?" Scott said, as he now patched into Bobby Drake's com-device.

"This is Bobby. What's going on?" Bobby answered.

"Are you still in the dining hall?" Scott asked, as Bobby had been entering the dining facility just as he and Alison were leaving.

"Yeah." Bobby confirmed.

"Is Theresa Cassidy in there with you?" Scott continued inquiring.

"Uh-huh, she and a few of the other girls are in here." Bobby replied.

"Would you bring her and James Proudstar down to Hangar B? James should still be in the living room with Jones Davidson." Scott requested.

"Sure, but why?" Bobby asked.

"The three of you come out to Hangar B, and we'll all find out in about five minutes." Scott replied straight-forwardly, as he then disconnected the call. Scott and Professor Xavier then left the War Room together and proceeded down the corridor towards the underground hangar section of the school.

After a moderately lengthy journey, Scott and the Professor made it to their destination of Hangar B. Their arrival coincided with that of the Blackbird coming into the hangar through its cliff-side entrance, and the occupants were currently disembarking from the craft.

"So Charles, I see that ye brought the welcome wagon along with ye." Sean Cassidy, who was code-named Banshee lightly remarked, as he came down the just lowered ramp of the Blackbird dressed in a simple medium-brown leather jacket and khaki trousers.

"That is a rather insightful observation. Welcome back." Professor Xavier replied, as the small passenger cart that had shuttled him and Scott down the long tunnel to the larger auxiliary hangar came to a stop.

Then, two more individuals came down the ramp behind Sean, who also announced their presence.

"I hope you're just as happy to see us too. With classes temporarily suspended, we had nothing but spare time on our hands." Lorna Dane warmly greeted the Professor, as she came down the ramp dressed in a light purple short-sleeved blouse and white crop pants. Her presence was as unmistakable by her demeanor, as it was by the natural light-green hair that marked one of her very unique physical attributes.

"I would say 'Slim' over there is also ecstatic to see us. But, since he usually sticks to a one facial expression limit, it's hard to tell whether he has his happy face on or not." Alex Summers teasingly said to his older brother Scott, as the rugged-looking blonde in his early 20's was the next to descend from the plane, wearing a rust-colored t-shirt and a pair of stonewashed jeans.

"Nothing gives me more pride or satisfaction than the sight of my students, even those that have long since graduated." Professor Xavier responded, as he was alluding to the fact that Warren had just come back a few hours ago following an extremely prolonged absence. But, Professor Xavier's words would end up having additional significance, as one more former student now exited the Blackbird behind Alex.

"Then, does that mean you've got room for one more, Chief?" John Proudstar, a very tall, very muscular, and physically imposing man said to Professor Xavier, as he now came down the ramp. The handsome Native American was dressed in a deep blue Southwestern-style button up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up on it, and a pair of black denim jeans. The appellation that John used in referring to the Professor was one that he reserved only for men that had truly earned his deepest respect.

"My sentiments most certainly extend to you as well." Professor Xavier replied to John.

Now, standing before Professor Xavier were three more of his former students-

Alex Summers, also known as Havok, who was gifted with the ability to release very destructive cosmic energy rays from his body.

Lorna Dane, who had been code-named Polaris and whose ability to generate and manipulate electromagnetic fields was surpassed only by one other person on the entire planet.

And there was John Proudstar, who had been given his tribal name of Thunderbird before coming to Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted. He possessed increased agility, heightened natural senses, and superior strength levels that quite possibly surpassed that of the armored X-Man code-named Colossus at this stage.

Together, these three individuals had made up the school's second class of students. By the time that they had graduated Polaris, Thunderbird, and Havok had proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that they were just as proficient in the use of their mutant abilities, as the class that had preceded them.

"What I want to know is why it took you guys so long to contact me? I had to get word from Alex about your plans to take this fight straight to the Sentinels." John remarked.

"I figured John would want in on some spur of the moment action. So, I asked Ororo to make a quick detour with the big flying taxi and stop in Arizona." Alex added.

"That particular oversight would be my fault. I know how important your efforts to help the people of your reservation are, and it just didn't occur to me to interrupt you from your work at Camp Verde." Professor Xavier said to John.

"My work back home does mean a lot to me, but I am an X-Man and I would say that this current situation takes priority." John stated, as he and the rest of the group now heard other voices approaching in the underground hangar.

"So, this is what the rest of the hangar looks like?" James Proudstar commented, as he and Theresa Cassidy arrived on another shuttle cart being driven by Bobby Drake.

"I'd say it pretty much looks like the other one, don't ye think? Maybe just a little bigger is all." Theresa said in response to James' observation.

As they neared the group, Theresa immediately spotted her father standing in the crowd of people gathered in Hangar B.

"And how have ye been while I was gone, lassie?" Sean greeted his daughter.

"Dad, ye're back!" Theresa exclaimed, as she jumped off of the cart before it had come to a complete stop and ran over to hug him, "Missin' ye is how I've been."

At almost that same moment, James looked over and saw the reason that he had been brought down to the hangar with Theresa.

"We had heard rumors about Terry's dad coming back, but no one told me you that were coming too." James said, as he got off of the passenger cart and walked over towards John. He was somewhat stunned, but very much thrilled by his brother's return.

"I asked Ororo not to say anything on the way here. I wanted to surprise you, little brother." John said, as he now went to hug his younger brother within his powerful grasp. James was a fairly large young man at a generous six feet, four inches tall, especially when considering his age of fourteen. But, standing next to his brother John, who towered at six feet, eleven inches tall and weighed in at over three hundred and fifty pounds, it made James appear almost diminutive.

As everyone continued talking, Ororo and Forge were the last to emerge from within the Blackbird, both of them were wearing black leather uniforms.

"Nice surprise." Scott said to Ororo as she came down, referring to the fact that she had kept him in the dark about John's return as well.

"I thought that you and the Professor would enjoy it almost as much as James did." Ororo replied.

"Well, with the addition of Thunderbird and Angel, it gives us more flexibility and adds much needed experience to our teams." Scott said, as he mentally started to reshuffle the potential roster assignments.

"**Warren is here?**" Ororo asked, as she had been unaware of his return and was slightly shocked by Scott's revelation.

"He arrived a little over an hour ago. Surprise." Scott told her, as a smile came to his face from revealing a secret of his own to Ororo, "The Professor and I have been working on the roster assignments while you were gone. I need you to come with me so that you can look them over, and give us your opinion on what changes that you think should be made. Then, the three of us can go ahead and finalize where we go from there."

"Let's go then." Ororo agreed, as she and Scott started towards one of the shuttle carts.

"I'm going to come with you." Forge said to Ororo and Scott, "I want to see how much progress Hank has made on the homing device, and how much work that we have left to do."

"Alex, I'll get together with you, Lorna and John a little later and brief all of you on the specific details of what's going on." Scott said, as he, Ororo, and Forge boarded the shuttle cart that Professor Xavier was already on.

"I suppose I'll be comin' with ye, so I can tell ye exactly what I was able to find out in South Dakota." Sean said, as he and Theresa also boarded the cart.

"What information were you able to gather from the Trask farm?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"Well Charley, I can tell ye that I had meself a fairly interestin' conversation with Bolivar's son Larry, who's livin' out there now." Sean revealed, as the first shuttle cart now departed.

"So guys, any ideas on how to keep ourselves occupied, without resorting back to doing homework again?" Alex said to the rest of the group, now left in the hangar.

"How about a couple of runs through the Danger Room, so we can try and shake some of the rust off before we head out?" John proposed, as the group moved towards the second shuttle cart.

"You know, it's been too long since we've even been in there. But, I guess there're some things you never forget?" Alex said to him.

"Well, I'm curious to see all of these improvements that Scott kept bragging about when he came to visit us." Lorna commented.

"I can show you guys all of the new stuff in there. I'll even run some combat-sims with you in there, if you want Miss Dane." Bobby offered.

"That's really sweet of you. And you can just call me Lorna." Lorna said, as she expressed her appreciation to Bobby.

"It's no problem. Besides, I have some extra energy to burn and it's not like I have much of anything else to do right now." Bobby replied, as he, Alex, Lorna, John, and James boarded the second shuttle cart, and then left the hangar to head back to the main part of the underground section of the school.

While the second cart made its way back, the first group had already parked and departed from their small transport vehicle in Hangar A. They now walked back down the main underground corridor with Ororo, Scott, Professor Xavier, and Sean heading for the War Room and Forge going to Hank's lab. Theresa was heading for the elevator to go back upstairs following her brief reunion with her father, but she only did so after he had promised to come talk with his daughter some more after he had finished his briefing with the others.

But, the entire group came to a halt, when they were suddenly met by Warren and Pietro in the long hallway. The two men had just come out of a door that led to the utility area, which the X-Men's uniform room, armory, and other miscellaneous items were located.

"Warren, me boyo. It's been much too long." Sean said, as he came up and shook hands with Warren, "I would ask ye what brings ye here, but I suppose that goes without sayin' now doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. Right now, I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things here." Warren replied.

"You're certainly off to a good start." Ororo remarked, as she went over to touch Warren on the arm, referring to the black and gold leather uniforms that both he and Pietro were now decked out in, "I wasn't expecting to see you when I returned."

"I just had to come back and see what you guys let pass for uniforms these days." Warren quipped, as he held both of his arms out in front of him and examined the sleeves, "Not bad. Hank wasn't kidding about how comfortable and stylish they are, although my personal tailor might not completely agree."

"In spite of your tailor's opinion, it is good to have you back in one." Ororo warmly stated.

"And it feels pretty good to be back in black." Warren emphatically told her.

"Speaking of Hank, I'd better go check in with him." Forge said, as he now moved past the group to check the progress of the cloaking/detection device that they were building.

"I'll go with you, so that I can see what my brother-in-law is up to. I'm curious to learn more about this contraption that you and McCoy have concocted." Pietro said, as he followed behind Forge to the lab.

"We'd better get going too." Scott said to those remaining nearby in the hallway.

"I'll finish talking to you guys a little later." Warren said, as also he went to join Forge and Pietro, while Professor Xavier, Scott, Ororo and Sean went to the War Room and Theresa ventured on to the elevator.

**………………………….**

As more time passed and the hour approached ten o'clock at the school, it found Rogue now coming back down to its lower levels after being requested on her personal com-device by Scott. Within a matter of minutes, Rogue was entering the strategic planning room to find out why.

"Has something else happened?" Rogue questioned Ororo and Scott, as she entered the War Room wearing a black tank top underneath a very sheer white, long-sleeved blouse and white spandex tights.

The only other person currently in the room at that moment besides her, Scott, and Ororo was Bobby, who was sitting in a chair close by dressed in his black and ice blue trimmed uniform.

"We called you two to give you the roster assignments for tomorrow, and so that you can pass them along to your squad mates and anyone else that you come across." Scott revealed, as he handed Rogue a small stack of sheets of paper that listed which team each X-Man had been assigned to.

"Tell them that we should be moving out around sunrise. That should give Henry and Forge enough time to finish working on their tracking device." Ororo also told them.

But right then, Scott and Ororo's attention was immediately drawn back to the large monitor in the War Room as a very interesting graphic was displayed in front of them. Scott cued up that particular broadcast feed and turned up the volume, so that all four of them could hear what the reporter was saying.

_"This is Trish Tilby from the GNN anchor desk live in New York, as we bring you the latest on our continuing coverage of the siege in Washington D.C. as it enters its twelfth hour. Little has changed in regards to the situation on the ground, with the Sentinels still maintaining control over a concentrated section of the city surrounding the White House. The U.S. capital city is now in an official state of emergency and many of the residents that live in the immediate vicinity of the disturbance zone have either been evacuated, or have left of their own accord._

_With military forces unwilling at this point to take hostile action against the Sentinels, attempts have been made to contact the famed super-hero group known as The Fantastic Four for assistance. The group has had a history of providing critical help in the past, such as dealing with the threat posed by the self-proclaimed ruler of the seas, Namor of Atlantis. They have also been essential in stopping the strange creatures that continue to sporadically rampage through parts of New York City, creations of the mysterious villain known only as The Mole-Man. But at a time when they are most needed, the Fantastic Four are nowhere to be found. There have been unsubstantiated eyewitness accounts of the group being sighted half a world away, in the small Eastern European nation of Latveria, although one could only hazard a guess as to why they would choose to go there at a time such as this…"_

"Do you think the Sentinels have anything to do with their sudden disappearance?" Ororo asked Scott in regards to this ultimate instance of coincidences.

"At this point, we really can't rule it out." Scott replied, as a video montage of footage showing the Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, and the Thing in action played across the large video monitor.

While Scott and Ororo continued talking about this new development, Bobby and Rogue left to go outside.

"I was just about to go down to the Danger Room for a training session with some of the other reserve X-Men, when Scott and Ororo buzzed me. You're more than welcome to join us?" Bobby offered to Rogue, as they stood together out in the corridor.

"Thanks, but I had a pretty grueling workout with Remy in there earlier this afternoon. But you can go ahead, and I'll take these upstairs so I can hand them out to everyone." Rogue replied.

"Oh, um…right." Bobby simply responded, before he turned to head down towards the Danger Room. He carried with him a few copies of the roster sheets, so that he could give them out to the X-Men that were waiting for him.

"Bobby…" Rogue unexpectedly called out, which caused him to immediately turn back around towards her.

"What's up?" Bobby inquired.

"You know, sometime we can run a session in there together like we used to. Just the two of us." Rogue proposed.

"Sure." Bobby warmly replied, as he then turned back and continued on to the Danger Room.

Before Rogue went to the elevator that would take her back upstairs, she first went and made a quick stop in the armory close by.

In less than a minute, Bobby entered the Danger Room where Havok, Polaris, Thunderbird were waiting, and where Quicksilver had now also joined them. Bobby had been sent over to the lab a short time before to find out from Hank and Forge how much progress had made with the device that they were designing. When asked why he was in uniform, Bobby revealed to them that he was on his way to the Danger Room to run a few simulations with the X-Men that had just gotten back, and now Pietro's curiosity about the training room had been piqued.

In the Danger Room, Bobby saw that John, Lorna, and Alex had also went and put on basic black and gold team uniforms that were similar to the one that Pietro was already wearing.

"Are you guys ready?" Bobby asked, as he continued towards the center of the underground training facility and handed each of them the list that he had just received.

"Considering that a few of us in here graduated from this school, we'd better be ready." Alex responded.

Bobby then verbally initiated the Danger Room session, and the room started to change around them. A dense fog rolled in around them and then they heard a loud booming voice give them a command

"**Halt Mutants**!"

"I take it that we're skipping the appetizer, and jumping straight to the main course?" Polaris commented, as all five individuals in the Danger Room then quickly leapt into action against the Sentinel simulation program.

"Your gift for the obvious is utterly amazing." Quicksilver somewhat snidely remarked to Polaris, as he used his super-speed to easily dodge one of the Sentinel's energy blasts.

"I think it's more like we have a gift for wrecking things. How're you doing over there, Johnny?" Havok queried Thunderbird, as he used his cosmic energy blasts to obliterate the top half of one of the Sentinels.

"Fine. It feels just like old times, 'Lex." Thunderbird answered, as he jumped up and grabbed another one of the Sentinels by its arm. He ripped its appendage off and proceeded to hit the robotic construct with it, instantly knocking the Sentinel to the ground with a thundering shot.

"Yeah, way to beat that thing like it stole something from you, Proudstar." Polaris commented, as she used a magnetic energy blast to disrupt the circuitry of another Sentinel close to her.

**……………………………..**

Jubilee had left the lower levels of the school more than an hour ago and returned to her room upstairs, all after she had helped Warren with his uniform alterations. Now, she was laying on her bed with pen in hand and a notebook underneath her, all in order to do something that she felt that she just had to.

To say a goodbye, of sorts.

A little earlier Jubilee had gotten her team assignment from Rogue, which solidified the fact that she and the rest of the X-Men were really about to attempt what some would say was the impossible. Jubilee didn't know if it was because of what Artie had said earlier about Alkali Lake or if it was her mind just coming to grips with the logical facts, but now the danger that they were facing felt all too real to her. The only thing that Jubilee wanted to do now was to tell her boyfriend about all of it and more.

Even though she had spoken to Doug earlier on the phone, making small talk about what was going on in Washington, Jubilee didn't fully reveal what she and the other residents at Xavier's were planning on doing. So, she felt that Doug should at least know the truth, even if it wouldn't be in the manner that she had preferred he find out.

_Dear Doug,_

_If you're reading this letter, then that means something didn't quite go the way we planned it and I didn't make it back alive. If that's the case, I hope I at least took a bunch of those purple bucket heads with me. Anyways, the reason I'm writing this letter is so that you'll know the real deal from yours truly. _

_Do you remember that one day when you came to see me, you know, after all that stuff that happened at Madison Square Garden? We sat together outside and I told you about how this was a school for mutants, and that we learned how to control our powers here. _

_Well, there's a little more to it than just that. _

_It has to do with the reason why I felt the need to try n take on the Blob all by myself that night, and it's the reason why you're reading this letter now. See, we learn how to control our powers here, but we're also taught how to use them to protect innocent people from other bad mutants, or from just plain bad people in general. The deal is, I'm part of the X-Men and that's kinda like what we do. I know I should've told you before, but I just didn't know how. I kept waiting for just the right time to bring it up, but I guess now that you're reading this, that means that there won't ever be a right time._

_Still, that's only part of the reason I'm writing this. There's other stuff that I never got to tell you. It's stuff that I want you to know about me, about Jubilation Lee. I guess I spend so much time crackin' jokes that sometimes people think that's all there is to me. Don't get me wrong, I like to have a good time, but there's another side to me too. I'm not a shrink or anything, but I guess being the comedian is how I deal with all of the craptastically bad stuff that's happened in my life. _

_I told you before about my parents getting killed in that accident and about me getting sent to live in a string of foster homes after that. I used to really hate being there so much. I mean, it's not like the people there really cared about me anyways, so I'd usually end up running away first chance I got. On top of that, I missed my parents like crazy, especially that first year after they died. So like the only way I could deal was to become the class clown, you know, so I wouldn't have to let other people close to all of that stuff underneath that wasn't as funny. _

_Cool thing was that later on I found my way here to Professor Xavier's school, and I found a place where the people were pretty decent. Well more than just decent, it felt like they really did want to help me. Which brings me to why I became an X-Man. _

_Remember I told you that those army guys showed up here last year because they heard a rumor that mutants went to school here. Well it was more than a rumor that made them come here. See, they came here because a guy named Col. Stryker had a real mad-on for mutants everywhere, and he wanted to totally kill all of us dangerous mutants. He kidnapped me and some of the other students and took us to this secret army base where he was building a machine to really try to do just that. He even took some of the little kids like Artie with him. I mean c'mon, Artie's not even a danger to anyone. Then he stuck us all in this dungeon cell where we were all wet and freezing and everything. Later on, the teachers from the school and a few other adults rescued us and brought us back home. After things had settled down, me and a few of the other older students got together and we were talking about how everything had gone down. We talked about how pissed we were about it all, and about how we wanted to learn to use our powers to prevent the next Col. Stryker from making a repeat performance. So voila, Wow, I didn't know I even knew that word, we started training to be X-Men._

_Anyways, what I really wanted you to know was that you were like the first guy that I've even felt comfortable telling some of this stuff to. I mean some of this I haven't even talked to Rogue or Ororo about. You also made me feel like it was okay to let my guard down and be myself, not just the joker. That's one of the things that I thought was so great about you. You accepted me for who I was, even being a mutant and all of the baggage with that. _

_I guess what I'm trying to say is I Love You Doug, and I don't want any of this to make you think I felt any other way about you. I know you're probably going to be mad about me keeping all of these secrets from you, but please don't be mad, cause I really, really hated hiding stuff from you. All I'm hoping is that one day you find it in yourself to forgive me, and that when you remember me that hopefully you won't be as mad anymore. I also just want you think about all of the happy times that we had together, because I know that's what I'll always cherish about us._

_Love,_

_Jubilee_

As Jubilee sealed her letter inside of an envelope marked 'For Doug- Just in case' and sat it on the nightstand next to her bed, she struggled to fight back tears brought on by the thought of the written message in front of her possibly being the final thing he would hear from her.

**…………………………………**

Elsewhere in the mansion, Rogue and Remy where sitting in the student's recreation-room together. Rogue was busily assembling more of her explosive-tipped arrows for her crossbow, along with gathering a few other special items for their big day. All the while, Remy was sitting next to Rogue on the sofa in front of the TV and watching the latest news. As he sat beside her, Remy used various tools to carefully shape and fashion small metal knives for himself out of pieces of scrap metal, which he could then kinetically charge and easily throw at a target. It was one of a multitude of skills that had been taught to Remy by his family, all of them members of the infamous Thieves Guild of New Orleans.

Back upstairs and in spite of the day's excitement, many of the students had gone to bed. Although, most wouldn't be able to get much sleep knowing what was going on. A prime example was Kitty, who had gone to her bedroom to lay down. Being an active member of the X-Men, she at the very least wanted to try to relax before their mission, and she even hoped to grab back a few hours of sleep that her restless nights of late had stolen from her. But, Kitty couldn't stop thinking about her anxiety regarding the Sentinels, and it left her lying in her bed wide-awake. So, Kitty eventually got up and decided to seek out the one person whose mere presence helped to soothe her internal angst. She went down the hallway to his room, and quietly phased through his bedroom door.

Some time had passed before Peter Rasputin woke up in his full-sized bed, slowly looking over to his right to see that he had a most unexpected guest fast asleep next to him. But, he knew and fully understood that their current circumstance had most likely caused Kitty to venture down and join him this night. So, Peter simply put his massive arm around her smaller frame to hold her tight, and then went back to sleep as well.

As the hour now passed midnight, Bobby Drake and John Proudstar continued their workout in the school's Danger Room with John's younger brother James watching them from the control booth above. Meanwhile Alex Summers, Lorna Dane, and Pietro Maximoff had decided to take a break from their training session. The trio had taken the elevator upstairs, where they were just now stepping off into the hallway on the first floor. As they did, they continued a conversation that had originally begun a number of feet below them.

"If that was the acclaimed Danger Room that I've heard McCoy brag so much about, I have to tell you that I was less than impressed by it." Pietro said to Lorna and Alex, in a voice that displayed his distinctly central European accent.

"The Danger Room was built to help us hone our powers and abilities. I don't think the Professor took entertainment value into account when he was designing it." Alex replied, as they journeyed down the hallway together.

"Considering that I already have complete mastery of my abilities, then it was essentially a waste of my time. My presence in there ended up being more for your benefit than anything." Pietro declared.

"Even after all of these years, you're still arrogant as ever, Pietro." Lorna remarked, as she looked over at him.

"No, I'm just honest. While the rest of you have to practice learning how to control and use your powers, I'm the fastest man on the planet forced to live in a world that simply cannot keep up with me." Pietro told her.

"In that case, it sounds like you need to learn to slow down every once in awhile roadrunner. Else, that world may end up passing you by." Lorna semi-sarcastically commented to him.

"Great, now you're going to start inundating me with your sage wisdom, which my sister already has a habit of doing." Pietro said about Wanda.

"Then, maybe you should start actually paying attention to what your sister has to say." Lorna replied, as the three of them decided to pass through the main living room on their way to the kitchen.

"What's the latest news?" Alex asked Jaime Madrox and Rahne Sinclair, as the two students were sitting on the sofa and watching the continuing coverage on television.

"Nothing's changed. Those 'bots are still in charge of the city." Jaime replied.

"Och, they're so frightening t'look at! Even from such a distance, and on TV t'boot." Rahne added.

"You children probably shouldn't be up this late watching this anyways." Pietro said to Rahne and Jaime.

"Children? C'mon, we're not three years old or something. Besides, this is all that's on TV right now." Jaime replied to Pietro, in a fairly annoyed tone.

"Ye shouldn't speak t'adults like that, 'tis disrespectful Jaime Madrox." Rahne said, as she looked next to her and scolded her classmate.

"Okay 'Rahney', don't go and bust a blood vessel because of me." Jaime said back to her.

Alex, Lorna and Pietro continued to stand in the living room to watch the news coverage with Jaime and Rahne, in what had seemingly become a ritual this day at the school. Then, one more person entered the living room and factored himself into what had become a very interesting assemblage of personalities.

"Hey Forge, what's the latest?" Alex asked him, as Forge came in from the kitchen after he had taken a quick break from his efforts with Hank down below.

"I think that we've made significant progress, especially when you consider the limited amount of time in which we've had to work." Forge replied, as he then turned to face the person standing right next to Alex, "Lorna, we'll need you to come down a little later when Hank and I have finished, so that we can gauge how effective our device is."

"Sure, just call me when you're ready." Lorna consentingly told him, as she, Alex, and Pietro then went on into the kitchen, while Forge headed for the elevator back down below.

**………………………………..**

Midnight had come and gone, bringing forth the early morning hours for those that were still awake inside of the mansion. Following their briefing with Alex, Lorna, and John in which they had relayed much of the same information that had been given at the previous team meeting, Ororo, Scott, and Professor Xavier then set to the task of coming up with a plan to help liberate both Washington D.C. and SHIELD's heli-carrier from the Sentinel's control. They took into account every conceivable and foreseeable possibility, and the three of them managed to finalize a precise stratagem to defeat the Sentinels simultaneously on two separate fronts.

Now that they were done, the only thing left was for them to for Forge and Hank to put the final touches on their invention, and then to head off with their teams into battle. So, Ororo Munroe and Scott Summers took the opportunity that they had been given to enjoy this brief moment of respite.

"I think I got your coffee just the way you like it." Scott said, as he came into the War Room now dressed in his black uniform and wearing his battlefield ruby-quartz visor. With him, he brought in two mugs, one in each hand.

"At this point, I'm not especially particular about it." Ororo replied, as she got up to get one of the cups from Scott and thanked him for it.

"As long as it keeps you awake, I guess that's all that counts." Scott said, as he and Ororo each took a seat at a large planning table in the room.

"I think the butterflies in my stomach are already taking care of that little detail." Ororo told Scott.

"Well, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one that still gets them before a mission." Scott revealed.

"If you consider the fact that we've faced the likes of Magneto, Juggernaut, Mesmero, Vanisher, along with a string of other enemies, you'd think that we would be more than used to this by now. We've certainly been doing it long enough." Ororo pointed out.

"Yeah, but we both know this one is going to be different. Those other confrontations were pretty much fought behind the scenes, us saving the world with most of the world completely unaware of it. This time, we're going to make a very public statement for mutants everywhere, by challenging the Sentinels and their relentless crusade to exterminate all of us." Scott said, as the significance of their mission certainly wasn't lost on him.

"I suppose you could say that the X-Men have come a long way since those early days." Ororo commented, as she and Scott continued sipping on their hot beverages.

"We certainly have." Scott said, as he reached into a small pocket on his uniform and slowly pulled a picture out of it.

"What is that?" Ororo curiously asked Scott.

"It's a picture, of me and Jean. It's from that time when the two of us went down to the Caribbean together. It was taken right after you and her both earned your Doctorate degrees from Empire State University." Scott revealed, as he handed the photo over to Ororo, "You know, it's been the strangest thing. Ever since I took that vacation a couple of months ago, and went back down to Caribbean by myself it's like I have this strange, new connection to Jean, even though she's been gone for nearly a year. I'm not really sure that I can find the words to explain it, but I guess all of this must sound pretty bizarre to you?"

"Not particularly, considering that Jean was there with you after all." Ororo told him, which caused Scott to be taken aback as he looked at Ororo with an extremely puzzled expression. Ororo then stood up and walked over towards Scott, before she spoke again.

"She will continue to be with us, in here." Ororo said, as she lightly put her hand on Scott's chest, and then placed her hand across her own heart.

Ororo then went and sat back down in her chair, with the two of them sitting there in silence for a moment. Eventually, two more individuals came into the War Room, and inserted themselves into what had turned into a very tranquil and relaxed atmosphere for the time being.

"So, is this what you guys spend so much time in here doing? Watching TV and drinking some of the school's finest blend." Warren said, as he entered the War Room and added to its fairly light mood with his comment.

"If our lives were only that simple." Scott said, as he looked up from his seat to reply to Warren and flashed a rare smile.

"I came to inform you that we've finally finished with the locator. Forge is in the hangar running a preliminary trial with it now." Hank informed Ororo and Scott, as he took his glasses off and held them down by his side in his right hand.

"Then, that means we can start getting ready. We should be moving out within the next hour." Scott responded, as he looked at the clock on his hand-held communicator to see that the time was now a quarter past five.

"It also means that the time has come to keep the promise that I made back on Muir Island." Ororo said, as she stood up from her chair.

"And what would that be, my beautiful compatriot?" Hank inquisitively asked Ororo.

"That the Sentinels would come to rue the day when they chose to target us. The hunter will now learn that they have indeed become the prey." Ororo resolutely answered, as she stood with both arms folded over in front of her.

**…………………………………..**

Next chapter: **The X-Men strike back**!

**……………………………………………………………………**

**Bonus Story**- Alternative School Part 4-Return of the King

**…………………………………..**

One could say that being gifted with the telepathy, the power to sense the very thoughts of those around you is a most advantageous ability to have. It is with just as much certainty that Emma Grace Frost, the Headmistress of the Massachusetts Preparatory Academy located in Snow Valley, Massachusetts, would whole-heartedly agree with that sentiment. Being able to read the minds of others had proved itself to be an invaluable asset to her both in the business world, as well as with more personal matters. Having that added extrasensory perception meant that, as a general rule, it was next to impossible to surprise or sneak up on her. But, leave it to a man who felt that he was in no way bound to such arbitrary precepts, to make himself the exception.

"I should have known that it was you that I'd find down here." Emma said, as she came and stood at the door to her study.

Emma's study was located down the hallway from her bedroom, and both rooms were located on the second floor of her personal residence on the school's campus. Emma appeared at the entry in the early hours of the morning, dressed in a white satin robe trimmed in pink. The hem of it came down to just above her knee and on it was also a small crest emblem on the upper left lapel of the robe, the trademark symbol of the Hellfire Club.

"Hello, my dear." Erik Lensherr greeted her, seated from behind the large desk in her study.

"I was positive that I sensed another presence near by, and when a low-level telepathic scan drew a blank, I knew that the list of possible callers would be fairly limited." Emma said, as she now walked into the room "I see that you are still familiar with the secret tunnel passages that run below the campus, in spite of your lengthy absence from here."

"It is no small task to navigate the virtual labyrinth that you've managed to create below this institution. Luckily, I have an impeccable sense of direction." Erik told her.

"You know, it's starting to become a bad habit of finding you here in my residence in the middle of the night unannounced." Emma stated.

"That wasn't my intention, but I thought it ill-mannered to wake a beautiful woman from a slumber equally as beautiful." Erik told her, as he stood up from the chair behind the desk dressed in a maroon dress shirt and black trousers, and started to go over to her.

"Oh, by all means sit back and relax. I'm sure that you're exhausted from your journey here." Emma said, as Erik went ahead and sat back down in the chair.

Meanwhile, Emma went to sit on the front edge of the desk, picking up the remote to her large screen television from the table's oak surface. Upon turning the TV on, it immediately displayed the news coverage of the Sentinels' takeover of the United States' capital city.

"I assume that the recent developments in Washington are behind your abrupt return." Emma said to him

"I intend to stop this madness, before it has a chance to spiral any further out of control." Erik told her.

"Then, may I presume that you've already formulated a plan to deal with this?" Emma asked, as she sat on the desk and turned her upper torso back to face him.

"Miss Frost, I always have a plan in mind." Erik replied, as he beamed a huge smile at her, "My question to you is are any of the recruits ready for the task at hand?"

"You already know about Pyro and Avalanche's abilities. Boomer, Empath, and Roulette are also elite amongst their peers, in regards to mastery over their powers. Another young lady codenamed Frenzy has just been promoted to senior status, and I believe that she is more than capable of aiding you. But, the rest of the students are too inexperienced at this point to be effective in a combat situation." Emma said, as she delivered her assessment to Erik.

"Then, would you please telepathically summon the Brotherhood for me?" Erik requested of her.

"I will. But first, I think that you deserve a proper welcome home, one most befitting a man of your stature." Emma smirked, as she decided to toy with Erik by suggestively propositioning him. She proceeded to lean slightly across the desk towards him, all done in a very risqué manner.

"Emma, my dear. I fear that your idea of a 'proper welcome home' would most likely kill this old man." Erik bandied with her, as he looked directly into Emma's biting blue eyes and politely declined her…generous offer.

"Very well, perhaps another time." Emma acquiesced, as she then set herself to the task of intensely concentrating so that she could mentally contact each member of the school's secret strike force, many of whom were fast asleep. Once she had sent her psionic message, Emma and Erik went back to their conversation.

"You should know that Charles Xavier came to visit us here while you were gone." Emma now revealed to him.

"So, Charles has been snooping around? He has figured out things faster than I had anticipated, but I suppose that really shouldn't be a surprise." Erik responded.

"I'm not entirely sure that he knows what we are doing here." Emma said.

"Trust me, he knows. My old friend's powers of deduction are nothing short of amazing, even if his foresight has always been severely lacking." Erik stated, as he sunk back into the large chair that he was seated in, his mind now stirring with the implications of this newly discovered development.

**…………………………………..**

Meanwhile, in the school's underground training facility, dubbed with the oddly familiar designation of the 'Combat Room', John Allerdyce and Tabitha Smith had been in there working out together. Even though it was still early in the morning, John had been unable to get much sleep after watching coverage of the Sentinels for most of the day. So, he decided to go work some of the aggressions out in there that he was feeling about the entire situation. After torching and bombing the flying computer-programmed battle drones in there, John and Tab now found themselves sitting on the floor of the Combat Room. They were leaning up against one of the walls in there, taking a short breather before they started another training sequence.

"You know, it's too early for you to be enjoying this so much. I wish I could get all happy about working out in here before the sun even wakes up." Tabitha commented, as she sat next to John on the metallic-tiled floor, both of them wearing their magenta and purple leather school uniforms.

"It's not like I forced you to come down here with me." John told her, responding to her observation of how much he seemed to revel in being in there.

"Yeah, and it's not like I was gonna fall back asleep any time soon, especially after you woke me up by getting up to come down here." Tab replied.

"I was having trouble sleeping, and I thought that a workout might help." John told her, "Plus, I like being able to come down here and cut loose with my powers, without having to worry about accidentally burning something up."

From his seated position on the Combat Room's floor, John took his lighter and flicked the flame on, using it to create a small butterfly that began to flutter around in the air above him and Tabitha. In a matter of seconds, he intensified the flame in size and strength and morphed it into the shape of a small firebird, which swooped at an accelerated speed around the entire Combat Room.

Then, Pyro's fire creature slowed down and started growing dramatically and exponentially in proportion and took on a new form that resembled that of a small dragon, similar to the ones described in fairytales about knights risking life and limb to save beautiful maidens. He even had the acumen to make his pyro-kinetic dragon breathe fire, almost appearing life-like as it discharged a mini inferno in the center of the Combat Room. Finally, John's creation rapidly dissipated into thin air, as he extinguished it out of existence with a mere thought.

"**That was wicked hawt**!" Tab remarked, as she whole-heartedly complimented John's display of his abilities, "But then again, you've always been the super-star when it comes to your powers. Me, all I used to think my powers were good for was pullin' jokes on everyone, and I used to love scaring the crap out of people with my homegrown firecrackers. I never thought about using them for anything more than that, until Miss Frost came and showed me that there was a lot more to my time-bombs than I ever dreamed of. And that there was a lot more to me too. For the first time, I felt like I really mattered and that I wasn't just some outcast freak because I'm a mutant."

"So, I guess that means you're ready to run another drill?" John asked, as he looked over at Tab and inquired about her interest in initiating another training sequence.

"Oh, alright." Tab slowly replied, leaning over to briefly kiss John on the side of his face before they both stood up. But, Tabitha and John stopped in their tracks when they abruptly received a telepathic message from their headmistress.

"The rest of your training session will have to be postponed until a later time." Emma told John and Tab, as she mind-flashed the couple and created an astral projection of herself in front of them.

"What's the matter?" Tabitha inquired.

"Magneto has requested an audience with his Brotherhood. Come immediately to my residence on campus." Emma revealed to them.

"Okay, we'll be there in a minute." John replied, as the astral image just as quickly faded away. He and Tabitha then left the Combat Room and went down the hallway to the locker room area, so they could change out of their magenta leather outfits and back into their regular casual clothes.

**………………………………**

Within a matter of minutes, the entire Brotherhood had made it to Emma's private residence, entering through a secret passage that led from the underground tunnel network.

"Well Mags, long-time no-see." Fred Dukes, one of the few adults in the group known simply as the Blob was the first to say to Erik, as he and the rest of the Brotherhood came into the study through a hidden passage entrance in the wall.

"You didn't call, didn't write. We all started to think that maybe you just forgot about us?" Tabitha added, as she walked in behind him.

"Never. There was a personal affair that I needed to tend to." Erik said, in reference to his recent trip out to the West coast. Then he turned his attention to one of his most-prized adherents, "Pyro, I trust that you and your fellow classmates have been training hard, and have been heeding Miss Frost's masterful instruction?"

"You know it." John replied, as he spoke to the man that he felt as though he would follow anywhere.

"I'm glad to hear it, because today each of you will get the opportunity to demonstrate just how much you have learned in regards to your respective abilities." Erik said to the group.

"That mean we're gonna go take care of business, and deal with the Sentinels?" John asked Erik, as he looked over at the television screen along with Joanna Cargill and Manuel De la Rocha, which showed Washington still under siege in the pre-dawn darkness.

"The answer to your question would be yes." Erik replied to John.

"Alright, we finally get to go to D.C. and kick some major ass!" Lance Alvers approvingly and loudly stated.

Lance had gone fairly unnoticed in the room by the others up to that point since he had been unusually quiet, and was standing a little ways off from the rest of the group in the study. Even so, he had come in dressed only in a plain white, tank-style undershirt and a pair of ordinary jeans, Lance had still managed to garner the attention of one Jennifer Stavros, code-named Roulette. She had been sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room, listening to the conversation that was going on between Magneto and the others. But all the while, Jen had tossed subtle glances in Lance's direction, as she visually inspected his defined physique that displayed itself through his muscle shirt.

"We will be going to…kick some ass, as Mr. Alvers has so eloquently put it. But, not in Washington." Erik said to the group.

"Why not? That's where all of the Sentinels are." Jennifer pointed out, as she now stood up from her chair.

"And Mystique is in Washington. Should we not try to go get her?" Manuel added.

"Mystique is more than capable of handling herself. I imagine that at this moment she is very safely sequestered with her fellow Congressmen and women of this country. But, my greatest concern is not with the fate of that city. To coin a popular adage, we have bigger fish to fry." Erik answered, as he sat back down in the large chair behind the desk.

"Erik, you are correct in your assumption. The greatest danger to us comes from the West, and the time of reckoning will take place when the Mighty Bird from the East converges with the Giant Master there." Irene Adler, also known as Destiny said, as she had taken a seat in one corner of the study to let her precognitive abilities reveal the myriad of immediate potential futures to her.

"That made absolutely no sense at all." Joanna remarked about Irene's premonition.

"It may end up being more helpful than you know, Miss…Cargill is it?" Erik now said to her.

"Yeah, but everyone calls me Joanna or just Frenzy." Joanna told him, slightly awed by the fact that THE Magneto fully knew who she was.

"Do you have a notion as to where this greater threat lies?" Emma now asked of Erik.

"I think that I have a fairly good idea." Erik told her.

"Then what're we waitin' for? Let's go break somethin', somewhere." Fred now said from the sofa in front of the television, on which he had taken up most of the room all by himself. Finally, one more person came into the study through the secret passage and announced his presence to the group now gathered in there.

"I see you that you haven't learned how to be any more patient since the last time I saw you, Blob old chum." Mortimer Toynbee, more aptly known as Toad said to Fred, as he stood by the secret passageway entrance dressed in a dark brown overcoat and pants.

"Finally, you guys brought another adult for me to play with." Fred happily responded, upon seeing another long-time member of the Brotherhood.

"That's because Magneto knows I like to play games, especially when we get to be the ones making the rules. The helicopter is prepped and ready to go, whenever you are." Mortimer now told Erik, as he had been out in the secret underground hangar where the Brotherhood's transport craft was kept.

"Then we will be departing shortly, as soon as everyone has changed into their battle attire." Erik said, as the members of the Brotherhood then started to file back out of the room by Mortimer. Their destination was the secret storage area underneath the Brotherhood House, where their uniform equipment was kept.

Left in the study were Erik, Emma, and Irene. The three of them continued their discussion, all in the hopes of possibly uncovering a better understanding of what the fates had in store for them this day…

**…………………………………**

A/N: Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter-

**TheDreamerLady**- Having seen my share of huge school projects and reports, I definitely sympathize with you. Glad you liked all of the stuff from the last chapter like Kitty and Piotr's moment and Jubilee mouthing off like there's no tomorrow. I see that you enjoyed the 'I told you so' about Alison's first day of teaching. Hopefully she won't have another day anywhere near as disastrous as that, but sometimes you just never know…

**randommarvelfan**- Glad you liked the Kiotr, and I hope you enjoyed Wanda and Hank's scene in this chapter too.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you liked the McCoy family interaction, and the Spongebob thing just seemed so right for that moment. Hope you enjoy the next chapter, because the action level with the Sentinels is about to go up a few notches.

**Episodic**- Glad you like what's going on and sorry about the cliffhanger, but as you can see with the last chapter and this one, it would've been too much for one chapter. Besides, it's a sneaky way of making you come back for more…

**Jean1**- Glad you liked Wanda and Hank as a couple. And yeah, considering that she was attracted to Vision and Simon, Hank seems like her type as well. The main reason I wrote them this way was because I thought it'd be interesting to see Wanda and Hank in a parental role, which Wanda in particular has wanted for so long.

As for the Bobby and Rogue leadership issue, I agree with everything you said. And who knows, maybe you're theory on how good of a leader Bobby is will get put to the test, when he's placed in a position where he has no choice but to step up and lead the student-squad…

**El Varon**- Glad you liked the Beast/Scarlet Witch pairing. And if you think last chapter was eventful, I hope you enjoy what's coming up next.

**The Fire Dancer**- I really appreciate the compliment, and I'm glad that you like what you've read so far. I'm also glad that you like the inclusion of the Massachusetts Academy, and I think it's a nice twist that gives a chance to explore those characters beyond being just 'the bad guys' that the X-Men are always fighting.

I'm also glad you that liked Wanda's inclusion, she's one of my favorites too.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you liked Pietro and Wanda's inclusion, and I hope you like the addition of the other characters that have shown up as well.

**Independent Fire**- Glad you liked the inclusion of Remy's favorite nickname for Ororo, along with Megan and her family, and the Kitty/Piotr heart to heart. Hope you enjoy what's up next.

And special thanks to **Kungfookelly** for the review of Land of The Silver Sun that I received, it's much appreciated.


	11. Heroes

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

**…………………………………**

Chapter 11- Heroes

In the pre-dawn hours of what many at Xavier's School for the Gifted believed would bring perhaps the greatest challenge they had ever faced this morning, the time had finally come for the X-Men to set off on their quest to save tomorrow.

Currently Warren Worthington III, who had just returned to the school less than twelve hours ago, found himself standing outside of an aged chapel located on the edge of the sprawling woods that surrounded the estate.

"Kurt, are you in here?" Warren asked, as he slowly entered the dimly lit church.

"_Ja_. I am up here." Kurt Wagner replied, as he sat in one of the front row pews.

"Scott and Ororo wanted to let you know that everyone's getting ready to head out." Warren told him, as he continued inside and towards the front.

"They could have called me on my comm-link and had me teleport back, instead of having you walk all of the way out here." Kurt said, as he stood up and turned to face Warren.

"Actually, I volunteered to deliver the message personally. It gave me a chance to stretch my wings and fly. Plus, even though I'm not what you would call a religious person, for some reason I just felt a need to come out here." Warren revealed, as Kurt for the first time stood face to face with the blonde, winged man in the church.

"They say that God's door is always open, for ALL of his children." Kurt said to Warren in his very heavily German-accented voice.

"So, have you been out here most of the night?" Warren asked Kurt.

"No, just for a little more than an hour, I came out here after running into Scott. When he told me that they had finished their strategy work, I knew that we would most likely be departing soon. But, I did not want to leave without my daily prayer for guidance." Kurt told him, as Warren now noticed that Kurt like himself was also dressed in a black leather uniform, Kurt's trimmed in midnight blue.

"'Ro told me you were a man of God, and now I know what she meant." Warren commented, as he went and sat down on the bench beside Kurt.

"That is not quite the truth. I am just a man, trying his best to do God's Will, but not always being successful." Kurt responded.

"Still, I'm sure you're probably more successful than the rest of us." Warren told him.

In response to Warren's comment, Kurt simply let out a short laugh.

"What's so funny?" Warren curiously asked Kurt.

"It just occurred to me that the two of us talking here like this looks like a scene straight from the Scriptures: The angel and the devil conversing." Kurt said, as he made reference to each man's very unique outward appearance.

"Yeah, but who's the angel, and who's the devil?" Warren now posed to Kurt.

"I would think that to be fairly obvious, even to the untrained eye." Kurt replied.

"I don't know, appearances can be deceiving after all." Warren told him.

"I am all too aware of that." Kurt responded.

"I may look like an angel, but a lot of my actions haven't always lived up to the part. Makes me wonder if maybe there wasn't some kind of mix-up with me and you?" Warren jokingly remarked.

"Or perhaps, it is further proof that God does have a sense of humor after-all?" Kurt equally as humorously retorted, as they prepared to head back to the mansion in a few minutes.

**……………………………………**

Outside in the school's garage, Logan had as usual been unable to sleep and had spent a good portion of the night in there. His inability to sleep didn't have as much to do with the events in Washington, as it was just a general case of insomnia that seemed to plague him on a nightly basis.

At any rate, Logan had managed to keep himself occupied by working on a blue motorcycle in the garage, which seemed to have become community property at the school. This point had been evidenced by the fact that Gambit and Rogue had decided to take it for a ride, just a few nights before.

"Where'd I put that damn thing at? I just had it a minute ago." Logan said aloud to himself, as he dug through a small toolbox on the floor of the garage and searched for a particular wrench that he needed to finish his tune-up work on the bike.

"I think you're looking for this." A female voice said to Logan, coming from the door on the far side of the garage. Suddenly, the crescent wrench that he had been in need of lifted itself off of the floor from the other side of the bike where he had left it, and floated towards him enveloped in a magnetic field.

"Thanks." Logan said, as he took hold of the wrench in mid-air. Logan had seconds before detected an unfamiliar presence approaching the garage outside, and he now looked up to see that Lorna Dane had entered the garage and was walking towards him, dressed in one of the team's spare black and gold leather uniforms.

"I take it from that little display, you must be the female Magneto I've been hearin' about?" Logan surmised, as he had been told about her's and Havok's abilities following the team's briefing the previous morning.

"Was that supposed to be a compliment, or do I really look psychotic?" Lorna replied with a smirk, as she stopped and stood close to Logan. He was seated on a small work stool by the bike, and was wearing his usual red-checkered lumberjack shirt and jeans.

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded, I was talkin' about your powers and all. Guess I just get edgy around folks that can bend metal just by thinkin' about it." Logan light-heartedly responded, as he then went back to working on the bike.

"It's alright. But power-wise, comparing me to Magneto is like comparing this bike to an eighteen-wheeler. Both of them basically do the same thing, but they're in two different classes." Lorna explained to Logan, as she stood leaning against a worktable in there, "Still, I can manage pretty well if I do say so myself, and I've been working hard on catching up to him."

"Well, that's good to hear. For a minute there, I was startin' to think alternative hair colors might be your forté?" Logan quipped, referring to the voluminous, light-green hair that came down to just above Lorna's shoulders.

"I'd avoid conversations about hair-do's, if I were you." Lorna happily shot back, as she took notice of his own one-of-a-kind hairstyle.

"Point taken, darlin'." Logan said with a smile, as he stopped his work on the bike and looked up at her once again, "What brings ya out here this time o' the mornin' anyways?"

"I was just walking around the estate to get a breath of fresh air, after I finished testing out Forge and Beast's new invention. I happened to see a light on in here, after I ran into Warren out on the grounds, and I came to see who our other early bird was." Lorna replied.

"Warren, that's that rich guy with the wings? I passed by him last night, but I don't see what the big deal is. Those wings aren't that impressive." Logan remarked to Lorna.

"When compared to someone who shoots sexy adamantium claws out of his hands, I guess not." Lorna teasingly said to Logan, "But then again, his wings were never the part of his anatomy that got us girls talkin' anyways."

"Lady, I really didn't need to know about any of that!" Logan sharply replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I offended your delicate ears." Lorna said, as she continued ribbing Logan. She had heard from Scott about how Logan was the one that generally said whatever came to mind, and decided to put his shoe on the other foot, "Anyways, the others should be just about ready to go, so I'm gonna head back in."

"Good, because I've been ready to go since yesterday morning. I'll be there in a few minutes." Logan told Lorna, as she then turned and exited out of the garage door.

As Logan quickly wrapped up his work on the bike, something unexpectedly sprang to mind, something that he hadn't thought about for quite a while now. It was a statement made to him by a man, by the man directly responsible for all of the questions and the confusion that he had about his past and about who he really was. The final conversation they had at Alkali Lake seemed to come back just as clearly and vividly to him now, as it was on that unforgettable day.

_"One day…One day someone will finish what I've started Wolverine, one day…"_

Logan paused for a moment to think about those words spoken by the late Colonel William Stryker, and how they now sounded as though they were some sort of warning, or even a promise. Logan then began to wonder if Stryker had known about the Sentinels all along, perhaps to serve as a fail-safe in the event that his extinction strike with the second Cerebro machine against all mutants didn't succeed?

Whatever the answer to that particular mystery might be, there was only one response that came to Logan's mind with respect to Stryker's final statement.

"**Not today, Bub!**" Logan silently swore to himself, as he hurriedly put the small toolbox that he had been using back on top of the nearby worktable. He then left the garage to go change into his uniform, so that he could put action behind the personal declaration that he had just made.

**……………………………………**

Now that everyone had finally gathered in the airplane hangar located beneath the school, there stood assembled before Professor Charles Xavier were his X-Men past, present, and the future:

Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Havok, Angel, Thunderbird, Beast, Quicksilver, Polaris, Gambit, Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, Jubilee, Colossus, Banshee, Forge, Iceman and Shadowcat.

And to say it was an awe-inspiring sight would definitely be an understatement.

"…it is not an easy task that you are undertaking, but things that are worthwhile rarely are. I commend you all for the bravery that you are showing, and my only wish is that I were able to join you." Professor Xavier said, as he was just finishing his short and impromptu speech to his X-Men in Hangar B, "Good luck and godspeed."

With those words of encouragement now spoken, the X-Men began to split up into the Black and the Gold teams, the two mission groups that would soon be departing on the team's Blackbird super-sonic planes to face the Sentinels.

"So, how're you feelin'?" Rogue, who was wearing her black and green-trimmed hooded uniform, asked Bobby Drake as she, Bobby, and Remy went to board their Blackbird.

"You know me, cool as ice." Bobby calmly replied, looking over at Rogue dressed in his black and ice-blue trimmed uniform.

"If dat ain't de truth." Remy, who was adorned in a black and brown-trimmed uniform that was accessorized with a full-length black leather trench coat added, as they proceeded up the ramp and into the plane.

"Well, last night wasn't quite what I had pictured our first night sleeping together would be like." Kitty Pryde now said to Peter Rasputin, as the couple stood together in the hangar close to one of the jets.

"I assume that you are referring to the fact that we actually slept?" Peter wittily replied, dressed in a black and red-trimmed uniform that had originally been custom-fit by Jubilee, who had helped him remove the sleeves to allow his massive arms more flexibility.

"Something like that." Kitty giggled, as she smiled and looked up at him wearing a black and pink-trimmed uniform of her own.

"There will always be other nights for us." Peter stated, as he then recalled how Kitty had phased out of his room that morning, and narrowly avoided being spotted by some of the other students.

"There won't be any other nights, not if the Sentinels have anything to say about it." Kitty said, as her cheery attitude now lessened considerably.

"Katya, I know why it is that you came to my room last night. You are still nervous about this situation with the Sentinels." Peter said, as he went straight to the topic that they had been dancing around since their heart-to-heart conversation the day before, "If you are feeling this way, then you do not have to go. Neither I, nor any of the other X-Men, will think any less of you."

"Yeah, but I will. I want to do this, I HAVE to do this. If I don't, then that means I let the Sentinels beat me up here." Kitty said to him, as she pointed up towards her right temple, "And the last thing I'm about to have is robots on the brain."

Peter then stood there momentarily and paused, gazing at the fascinating young lady right in front oh him before he responded to her.

"I understand, Katya." Peter simply replied, as he was able to very much appreciate her inner-courage and her desire to confront her fears head on.

Peter then picked Kitty up and wrapped his arms around her, as the two of them sensuously kissed in a very romantic embrace, before separating to go to their respective planes.

Not too far away from Kitty and Peter, another goodbye was also taking place.

"You have to come back in one piece, now that we've made a commitment to each other." Lorna affectionately said, as she stood wrapped in Alex Summers' arms. She then removed the black leather glove from her left hand and held it in front of him, gesturing towards the small engagement ring that Alex had given to her.

"You better believe I'm coming back. That thing is nowhere near being paid off yet." Alex sarcastically replied, referring to Lorna's ring as well.

"Oh, go get on your plane already!" Lorna laughed, as she playfully hit him in the shoulder, before they gave each other a very intense kiss and then went to board their planes too.

Alison Blaire had earlier come down to the hangar with the others, so that she could wish her friends' good luck on their mission. But, there was one individual in particular that she had come to give a heartfelt send off to.

"Be careful you, all of you." Alison sincerely stated, dressed in a casual, slate-colored blouse and a pair of jeans as she looked up into the ruby-quartz visor of Scott Summers.

"Don't worry, we will." Scott warmly replied.

Alison then saw that the front zipper on Scott's black on black-trimmed uniform was hanging just below his neckline. Alison decided to finish zipping it up for him, and then nervously fiddled with the zipper for a brief moment afterwards. Scott then looked steadily at her during that same moment, before flashing a small smile at Alison and then turning to travel across the hangar to his plane.

Lastly, Hank and Wanda McCoy were also saying goodbye to each other. Well, not actually saying it, but expressing their emotions with a kiss.

With a very passionate kiss.

With a very passionate kiss, which was now approaching the two-minute mark.

"C'mon McCoy! If you don't stop now, ain't no way you're gonna wanna come play with the rest of us." Logan wisecracked to Hank from across the hangar, as he was going up the ramp of one of the Blackbird's dressed in his black and bronze sleeveless uniform.

"Logan, my boy, you have no idea." Hank happily sighed with a small laugh, as he and Wanda stopped their tender display. They stood holding each other, with Hank's eyes focused on Wanda's. Then, Pietro Maximoff swiftly came up to the couple.

"Cyclops is boarding our jet, so I suggest we get a move on." Pietro said to Hank.

"Good luck, to the both of you." Wanda said, as she hugged her brother Pietro and then quickly kissed Hank again.

"With the exceptionally formidable abilities that you possess, your wish of luck indeed carries considerable weight with it, my beloved." Hank told Wanda.

"Don't worry, I shouldn't have that much trouble carrying my weight and his too." Pietro warmly said to his sister, as he and Hank then both left to make their way over to their plane in the hangar.

In just a few minutes, the engines to both planes in Hangar B roared to life. The landing gears then retracted, as the vertical thrusters slowly lifted the jets into the air. Then with tremendous force they both rocketed forward, with the plane carrying Storm's Gold team leading the way out of the cliffside hangar exit, followed by Cyclops' Black team. Remaining inside of the hangar were Professor Xavier, Wanda, Alison, and Sean Cassidy.

"Ye do realize what ye've just done?" Sean said to Professor Xavier through his thick Irish accent, as they all stood about twenty yards away from the hangar exit and looked out onto the dawning day.

"Yes, and I pray that they all return safe and unharmed." Professor Xavier replied, as he sat in his wheel chair wearing a tan dress shirt and dark colored slacks.

To which Sean started to chuckle.

"I don't know if the X-Men are the one's needin' the prayers." Sean stated, "Ye've just dispatched perhaps the most formidable demolition crew ever assembled on God's green Earth! I'd say the Sentinels're the ones in need of a few Hail Mary's right about now."

"The Sentinels certainly won't get any from me. I only wish that I was going off with my husband to help with their demolitions work." Wanda now said, as she and Sean were both wearing black and gold leather uniforms.

"Well, you've already heard my feelings on that particular subject." Professor Xavier reiterated.

"Aye, that makes three of us." Sean agreed, "But, I understand why ye asked Wanda and me to stay back. If those Sentinels do decide to retaliate and make a target out of the school, it'll be up to us t'get these children outta here on that…what did Forge call it?"

"I'm pretty sure I heard someone say Forge calls his helicopter the Velocity." Alison revealed, referring to Forge's personal craft that he had left parked in Hangar A, underground beneath the school's outdoor basketball court.

"That's a mighty interestin' choice of a name for it." Sean remarked.

"I think it sounds rather catchy." Wanda commented.

"Hmmm. Do you guys really think that the Sentinels might come here?" Alison now asked the group.

"At this point, we have to be prepared for that possibility." Professor Xavier told her.

"Well, with our combined powers and the defenses ye've had grafted into yuir home, I think the Sentinels'll be in for one humdinger of a surprise, if'n when they do decide t'pay us a visit." Sean stated, as the first rays of the new rising sun began to peek over the horizon.

**…………………………………**

In what seemed like just a handful of minutes to its passengers, the modified Blackbird carrying Storm's Gold team had arrived in Washington D.C., landing on an abandoned street one city block west of the White House. Storm, Havok, Angel, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Iceman, Colossus, Gambit, and Jubilee sat and stood around a strategy table in the passenger bay in the rear of the craft, going over any last minute questions or details they had about their plan.

"Man, it feels like I was just here yesterday." Iceman humorously said, as he stood near the table and looked at a 3D diagram of the neighborhoods surrounding the White House. Iceman was, of course, referring to the very recent trip that he, Professor Xavier, and Kitty had made to the city.

As they continued to discuss strategy, it quickly became apparent that their arrival had not gone completely unnoticed, despite the recent upgrades to the Blackbird's radar evading capabilities.

"Storm, looks like we've got some company outside." Havok was the first to say, as he was able to look out through the cockpit's window and see military vehicles and soldiers coming towards them down the street.

"And here I was t'inkin' all of Forge's fancy work on dis plane had bought us a no-hassle ticket in through de front door." Gambit commented, as he sat on one of the benches in the rear of the plane.

"Forge has made this plane virtually invisible to electronic detection, but not from the human eye. Those soldiers most likely spotted us when we were flying by overhead." Storm told Gambit.

"Should we prepare to take off before they get here?" Colossus asked Storm.

"No, their arrival is precisely on time." Storm replied, as the army had very much factored into the plan that she, Professor Xavier and Cyclops had devised.

The Gold team then disembarked from the plane and went out onto the street to meet the approaching soldiers, which was normally congested with traffic and people. But the street, just like the rest of the area surrounding the White House, had been evacuated of civilians by military forces trying to lessen any potential casualties in the event that fighting broke out with the Sentinels.

"**Agent Corbin, what is this unauthorized plane doing in the middle of a restricted zone**!" An individual, who was dressed in a dark-blue camouflaged military uniform that had a large eagle embossed symbol on his right shoulder and was apparently in charge, shouted. He then stepped out of an all-terrain dune buggy car, as the two-seat vehicle that was being driven by another soldier pulled up and stopped in the middle of the street not too far from where the Blackbird was sitting.

"May I have a word with you?" Storm said to the African-American military commander, who appeared to be in his mid-40's with gray hair and a gray goatee, as she walked down the ramp of the Blackbird towards him and the group of soldiers that had gathered behind him and were armed with very large machine guns.

Since the soldiers had been hastily cobbled together from the U.S. military and from international agencies such as SHIELD, they were all dressed in varying styled and colored uniforms that came in various shades of camouflaged attire.

"Who are all of you?" The commander asked Storm, as he stopped and stood a few feet away from her.

"I am Dr. Ororo Munroe and I believe that we may be of assistance to you, General…" Storm answered, as she looked at his shoulder and ascertained what his rank was.

"…Bridge, Brigadier General G.W. Bridge, ma'am. I'm in charge of this joint ground operation, but what makes you think that we need any help here from a group of civilians?" General Bridge, one of SHIELD's top commanders said with skepticism very apparent in his tone.

"We are the X-Men, and we have experience in dealing with the Sentinels." Storm told him, as she folded her arms in front of her.

"The X-Men? You're crazy if you think I'm going to let a bunch of mutant vigilantes waltz in here and start a firefight with the Sentinels on the President's doorstep, especially while they're holding him hostage." Bridge responded.

"We have a plan, which should free the President from the danger that he is currently in." Storm continued.

"Or, possibly get him killed." General Bridge disbelievingly replied.

Then at that very moment, two extraordinary individuals came over to join the group consisting of the X-Men and the soldiers, announcing their rather impressive presence to them.

The first was a man sealed inside of a shining suit of red and gold armor, equipped with a plethora of advanced technological equipment. He was a modern day knight, prepared to face ever increasing modern day threats with the aid of his incomparably designed battle-suit.

The second could easily be described as a living legend, seemingly ripped from the pages of history to again walk in a modern world that he never expected to live to see. He was dressed in a red, white, and blue star-spangled uniform, which had served as a symbol of hope in the Second World War to those willing to stand up against the forces of fascism and imperialism in Europe and the Pacific.

Together, they were _The Invincible Iron Man_ and _Captain America_.

"Captain America, I'm surprised but glad to see you here, both of you. The last I heard, you were involved in some kind of operation along the Afghan-Pakistani border?" Bridge said, as he now came over to the sidewalk where Captain America and Iron Man where standing.

"I was there. I've been working in conjunction with SHIELD to help root out HYDRA cells that're attempting to incite hostilities between the local tribes and warlords, all in the hopes of destabilizing the entire region." Captain America replied, as he stood there with his primary weapon strapped to his back, a round red, white, and blue shield that had a large star in the center of it, "We were just wrapping things up there, when the good people at Stark Enterprises sent one of their private aircrafts to pick me up. They said there was major trouble back home, and Iron Man filled me in during our plane ride as to what's been going on."

"It's not enough that your boss designs and manufactures most of SHIELD's weaponry and other equipment, but he also sends his own personal bodyguard to shuttle Cap back Stateside to us." Bridge now said to Iron Man, referring to Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Enterprises.

"Mr. Stark saw the news reports while on a business trip in Singapore, and he's always willing to help out in the fight against forces that threaten freedom and democracy worldwide. He sent word for me to bring Cap home, and for me to lend any necessary assistance that I might be able to provide here." Iron Man stated to the group in a voice that was automated in its tone, as he spoke to them through the speaker device built into his red and gold metallic helmet, "We just arrived a few minutes ago, and in that time I've been doing a peripheral scan of the White House from here with my armor's sensory array. I'm fairly certain that I can attune my armor to the Sentinel's surveillance frequencies to get inside undetected, but getting out may be a different story. I'll most likely have to fight my way out, if I try to bring the President or anyone else with me. With more time, I can probably patch myself directly into the Sentinel's operating systems and shut them down completely, but I don't know if that's extra time we actually have."

"Miss, while we were walking up I couldn't help but overhear you mention something about having experience in dealing with these Sentinels." Captain America said to Storm, as he then turned his attention back to General Bridge, "I know that you're in charge of this operation General, but with all due respect I really think we should at least hear what she has to say."

"Sure, I'll listen. But, I'm not making any guarantees beyond that." General Bridge replied, as he was now more receptive to listen to what the X-Men's leader had in mind, after Cap had showed his own willingness to take a chance by trusting the X-Men.

"Then, gentlemen if you will follow me, I shall explain everything." Storm said, as the weather goddess, one of SHIELD's finest, the armor clad figure, and the premier agent of liberty all went onboard the Blackbird. They were about to hear Storm's plan to give the Sentinel's a healthy dose of that which they had been programmed to seek out foremost. All the while, the rest of the X-Men and the soldiers left outside gathered around the ramp to listen to the discussion within.

**……………………………**

In the open skies somewhere over the Midwestern section of the United States, Cyclops' Black team consisting of Beast, Polaris, Forge, Quicksilver, Thunderbird, Wolverine, and Shadowcat was currently searching for the SHIELD heli-carrier. But, they had yet to locate their target objective.

"It looks like that little doo-hickey you spent all night workin' on isn't quite livin' up to expectation." Wolverine remarked from the passenger section of the Blackbird, speaking to Beast who was sitting in the cockpit with Forge.

"_Au contraire_. This infinitesimal 'doo-hickey', as you refer to it, is working perfectly. It has been impeccably triangulating the unique frequency that endeavors to impede all foreign reconnoitering signals, capable of ascertaining its current vicinity." Beast replied, as he continued to monitor the device that they had plugged into the Blackbird's radar system, while Forge piloted the plane.

"McCoy, why the hell don't you run that by me again in plain English, so us non-encyclopedia types can understand it?" Wolverine loudly inquired.

"What he said, is that the locator is getting clooossser to the heli-carrier by the minute, Bub." Shadowcat smirked, as she sat in her seat and slowly articulated her lay translation for Wolverine.

"It's way too early in the mornin' for you to be startin' up with me, Short-stuff." Wolverine replied in a good-natured tone, as he looked over at Shadowcat. He then turned his attention back to the window next to him and took a look outside.

"How far has it narrowed the search range down to?" Cyclops now asked, as he got up from his chair in the first row of the passenger section, and walked up to the cockpit area to talk to Forge and Beast.

"Judging by the coordinates and flight course stated in its distress call, we believe the heli-carrier made landfall somewhere along the US coastline earlier this morning and is heading westward at an accelerated clip." Forge revealed, "Our readings are indicating that it should be somewhere fairly close to us here, either over northern Arkansas or southern Missouri."

"Maybe they've changed their mind about taking over the world and ridding it of us mutants? They're probably in a hurry to get to Branson now, so they can take in a show or two. I know I wouldn't mind a quick stop there." Polaris quipped, as she sat in a seat across the aisle from Wolverine.

"Dane, you gotta be one of the most unusual ladies I ever met." Wolverine said to Polaris, as he continued staring out of his window and referred to what others might simply regard as a quirky sense of humor on her part.

"Yeah, but she keeps the car trips from getting boring." Thunderbird jokingly remarked, as he sat in the row behind them next to Quicksilver and across the aisle from Shadowcat.

"If her commentary is all that we have to keep ourselves occupied, then it sounds like a good reason for us to take the bus." Quicksilver now wryly added.

"Uh-huh, like you'd know funny if it walked right up and bit you in your tight…butt." Polaris quickly responded to Quicksilver's comment, as she tried to keep in mind that one of the younger members of the X-Men was present on the plane with them.

"On the subject of biting us in our derrierés, it looks as though we've just located our intended destination and are coming up fast on the heli-carrier." Beast said to everyone in the plane, as Cyclops went to sit down and strap himself into his seat, "Lorna, if you don't mind doing us the honor of facilitating our unfettered access inside, we would be ever so grateful."

"Well Hank, I'll say this. You definitely know how to make a girl feel important." Polaris warmly replied, as she stood up and made her way up to the front of the plane.

Polaris took the small, orb-shaped metal object that was connected to the plane's radar system and that was sitting on the cockpit control panel. She then took it and held it in her hands. With a mental command, Polaris began to summon the raw power of the Earth's electro-magnetic spectrum, bending and manipulating the gravitational fields to her will. As Polaris began to channel these tremendous forces into the cloaking device, the plane's electronic controls started flickering off and on uncontrollably. When the entire Blackbird unexpectedly started rocking back and forth violently in mid-air, it prompted the other passengers inside to grab hold of their seats.

"Is it working yet, Lorna?" Thunderbird nervously asked her, as he tightly gripped the arm handles of his seat and tried to keep himself from ripping them off with his enormous strength.

"I think so." Polaris replied, as she closed her eyes and continued focusing more magnetic energy into the cloaking device.

"Well, I hope ya figure it out soon, 'cause I'm feelin' your 'magnetic' personality deep down in my bones!" Wolverine clamored from his chair, as he began to feel queasy from the effect that Polaris' power display was having on his adamantium skeleton.

Suddenly, the ferocious oscillations that had hit the Blackbird instantly stopped. Everyone then looked up to see Polaris still standing at the front of the plane behind the cockpit, and that the orb she had been holding was now glowing very brightly. To those individuals that were there to see it, the light emanating from the orb looked very similar to the energy wave generated by Magneto's mutation device on Liberty Island, which the X-Men had stopped him from unleashing on the world's leaders gathered on nearby Ellis Island.

"Is that contraption really safe?" Quicksilver very curiously asked, as he and the other X-Men were now able to relax a little and sat back in their seats.

"It's very safe." Forge said, as he turned around to reassure him, "Now that Polaris has jump started it, that device has become self-sustaining. It's pulling in E-M waves and using them to generate a refraction effect going up to and beyond the ultraviolet end of the spectrum."

Just as Wolverine was about to ask Forge to clarify what he had just said in his own 'distinctive' manner, Shadowcat once again stepped in to help.

"That 'thingy' is reflecting the sun's rays, cloaking us and making this plane invisible to the naked eye." Shadowcat explained to Wolverine, as she then looked up at Forge, "Right?"

"You're correct, Kitty." Forge confirmed, before turning his attention back to the plane's controls as they neared the heli-carrier.

"Sounds like we've just gone where no mutant has gone before." Thunderbird said to Shadowcat and the rest of the X-Men in a semi-serious tone.

"I wouldn't know. I'm more of a Star Wars fan myself." Shadowcat sprightly replied.

"If that thing makes us invisible, why didn't you build one a whole lot sooner?" Wolverine now asked Forge.

"Haven't you heard the phrase 'Necessity is the mother of invention'?" Forge responded, "On top of not thinking that we would ever have a practical need for a device like this, it would require building a very large machine capable of manipulating a very large amount of electromagnetic energy. Luckily in our case, we're able to use a much smaller device with the help of someone capable of controlling such a tremendous amount of power all on her own."

"Speaking of which, how are you holding up, Lorna?" Cyclops asked his future sister-in-law, as he stood up from his seat and walked over to the other side of the front row aisle, where Polaris was now sitting.

"I'm fine, but I am starting to feel a little tired from maintaining the heavy stasis field around this thing." Polaris replied, as she sat with the device that was still connected to control panel with a number of long cables. It hovered a few inches above Polaris' palms, which were resting in her lap and facing upward.

"We're almost inside, so you shouldn't have to strain yourself much longer." Scott said to Polaris, as he then officially jumped into leader mode, "Forge try to land inside of the heli-carrier's lower-level docking bay. Everyone else, let's get ready to move out."

"I know you said the heli-carrier was big, but that thing is **freakin' huge**!" Shadowcat said with astonishment in her voice, as she looked out of her window. It was obvious that the sheer enormity of the vessel was making a most definite impression on her, as they drew closer to it.

The SHIELD aircraft heli-carrier looked very similar in appearance to its water-bound counterparts, but it was monstrous in size and was nearly four times larger. Near each top-corner of the craft were gigantic turbine engines that each powered an immense rotor blade, which spun around at an alarming rate. These rotor blades, in addition to the vortex vertical-thruster engines that were located on the sides and underneath the vessel, helped to keep the heli-carrier airborne.

On the top deck-level of the heli-carrier was an immense launching and landing pad, where SHIELD's various fighter jets and attack helicopters took off on missions that could conceivably dispatch them to every corner of the planet. Normally, the deck was full of these aircraft, but because of the emergency in Washington, they and the majority of the rest of the forces on the heli-carrier had been scrambled to the US capital city to lend assistance.

But just like that city, the other half of the X-Men were on there way to help stop the Sentinels, as the invisible Blackbird flew into one of the hangar decks of the heli-carrier completely undetected and landed within. Now, it was time for the hard part to begin, as the Black team disembarked from their plane inside and set about the task of liberating the heli-carrier from its Sentinel captors.

**……………………………**

Liberté Park, which was located due north of the White House, ordinarily served as a popular attraction in Washington D.C. for both tourists and locals who were out and about in the city. But, in the early hours of this Tuesday morning the park, just like the White House, was firmly in the control of the Sentinels and no visitor would dare venture to its lush green environment this day.

No one, with the exception of one young lady who had traveled a few hundred miles from New York with the express purpose of coming face-to-face with a Sentinel.

"Like guys, I like traveled all of this way to tour the Capitol, but now I think I'm lost. Do you think you could help this poor mutant girl out with some directions?" Jubilee asked with a huge grin, as she casually strolled up to one of the Sentinels and stood between it and another unit stationed on the outer perimeter of Liberté Park. She proceeded to blow a bubble with her chewing gum, peering up at them through the yellow lenses of her black-rimmed sunglasses that matched her black and yellow-trimmed uniform and overcoat.

"**Halt mutant**!" One of the Sentinels bellowed its command to her, after performing a scan and determining her to be X-gene positive.

"Okay, but ya gotta catch me first!" Jubilee replied, as she turned and swiftly took off across a street that ran adjacent to Liberté Park. She quickly ducked into a nearby alley, as the two Sentinels followed behind her in hurried pursuit and quickly crossed the four-lane boulevard with their very lengthy lower extremities.

After entering and venturing through the small alley that Jubilee had disappeared into, the Sentinels eventually found themselves on another side street that was lined with a couple of hotels and government buildings used by the Treasury Department. There were also a few other historically significant buildings that had been preserved in the neighborhood, dating back to their reconstruction following a fire that swept through the city in the nineteenth century.

"Target identified as Jubilation Lee." One of the Sentinels said aloud to the other, "Target mutant is hereby ordered to discontinue resistance of apprehension by Unit 0217, and is to immediately come out and surrender herself to Unit designate."

"Very well, we will all come out. But, surrendering to you is another matter entirely." A different female voice now said to the Sentinel unit, hidden from somewhere on the street.

The Sentinels optical sensors did a visual scan of the street, including a thorough scan of parked cars, large trees and shrubbery, and other items that were near the curb and along the sidewalk, but they failed to detect Jubilee anywhere. The logic analysis function of the Sentinels' programming immediately kicked in, and they deduced that something was not right about this situation.

Then, Storm, Colossus, Iceman, Gambit, Havok, and Angel, who had waited on the ground for Jubilee to take her up to the top of a building with him, all appeared on various rooftops up and down the street.

"So, since I had to actually help you guys find me, all I got to say is...**Tag and now you're it**!" Jubilee happily remarked to the Sentinels as she stood next to Angel, who was currently armed with a crossbow that Rogue had lent to him.

"Looks like you boys just found yo'selves as the unexpected guests of honor at our little gatherin'." Gambit commented to the Sentinels, as he pulled a handful of cards out of a pocket on the inside of his trench coat and immediately charged them.

"I suggest that we give our 'guests' a most appropriate reception." Storm calmly said to the rest of the Gold team, as she stood on the edge of one of the rooftops and spoke through the earpiece communicators that she and the other X-Men were all wearing.

"In that case, let me be the one to check their coats at the door!" Havok loudly exclaimed, as he stood next to Storm. Suddenly, a huge burst of cosmically charged energy emerged from his fists held out in front of him and completely obliterated one of the Sentinels, as the powerful wave ripped right through the robot standing down below on the empty and abandoned street.

As the first Sentinel fell, storm clouds seemed to roll in out of nowhere. Without warning the sound of loud booming thunder cracked in the air, an instant before a huge bolt of lightning ferociously struck down from the heavens above and made short work of the second Sentinel. Since the X-Men were dealing with advanced mechanical constructs and not living beings, they felt no need to hold back with their powers. It was a point that was extremely self-evident, as illustrated by the two smoldering metallic husks now strewn across the pavement below.

"Well, that wasn't too hard." Iceman commented, as he stood on another rooftop and spoke through his earpiece communicator.

"That was only the beginning. Now that we've gotten their attention, this street will be crawling with Sentinels in a few minutes." Angel said, as he stood and loaded the crossbow that Rogue had hastily shown him how to use.

"Since we've now lost the element of surprise, I suggest that everyone get down to the ground level and prepare yourselves." Storm said to the rest of the Gold team.

With that, Storm created an air current that rapidly carry both herself and Havok down to the street. Nearby, Angel spread his feathered wings out and flew down from the top of another office building, wrapping one arm around Jubilee and holding the crossbow in his other hand.

Meanwhile, Colossus converted his entire body into organic-steel, while Iceman covered himself in a protective shell of ice. Iceman then created an ice slide on the top of the hotel that he and Colossus were occupying, using it to travel down to ground level.

Lastly, Gambit had had little trouble in getting up to the top of the Treasury building that he was on. He had strapped on special boots and gloves with small spikes on them, and used them to quickly ascend up the outside of the building. It was just one example of the tools that he carried in a small bag strapped to his back, which he had acquired during his now previous life of crime. But at the moment, Gambit was preoccupied with scaling back down the exterior of the building, so he could participate in a far more noble purpose with his new teammates.

Within minutes, Angel's words of forewarning to the rest of the group were proven true, as three more Sentinels appeared at the upper end of the street.

"Unit 0616 initiating scan for mutagenic anomalies: Multiple signatures now confirmed." The Sentinel now said to its fellow units through their internal communication system, "Subjects identified as Piotr Rasputin: cross-referenced as Colossus; Ororo Munroe: cross-referenced as Storm; Robert Drake: cross-referenced as Iceman; Remy Lebeau: cross-referenced as Jack of Hearts, subject also cross-referenced as Gambit; Warren Worthington: cross-referenced as Angel; Alex Masters, cross-indexed as Alex Summers: cross-referenced as Havok; prior identification of Jubilation Lee, now cross-referenced as Jubilee."

Then, the Sentinels paused as they studied the information now at their disposal.

"Unit continuing identification procedure: Subjects collectively cross-referenced as The X-Men. Re-assessing threat matrix:" Unit 0616, the lead unit of the robotic trio said as it continued racing through its programming," Per priority analysis amendment by Dr. Steven F. Lang on program date 050319, threat matrix appraisal has been re-assessed and supercedes all current directives. All available units are instructed to begin termination sequence per Lang amendment, orders are now to Destroy The X-Men!"

With the command now given all of the Sentinels in Washington D.C., including the nearly two dozen units surrounding the White House, left their posts and took flight into the air to soon converge on the side street a few blocks away. As they did, Nightcrawler and Rogue observed their departure from the Blackbird, which had moved from its original landing spot and was now parked on another small street close to Pennsylvania Avenue on the eastern side of the White House.

"It looks like things are going just the way Storm said it would. Those Sentinels' programmin' have them high-tailin' it to get their hands on the mutants causin' the disturbance. You ready for us to do our part?" Rogue asked Nightcrawler, as she stood up from the cockpit chair where they had been monitoring the Sentinels and waiting for their opportunity to act.

"Of course, _Fraulein_! I am always ready to perform a deed, especially when it is a good one." Nightcrawler impishly replied to her, as he stood up from the chair next to her. Then they both stood behind the pilot and co-pilot's seat and faced one another.

"Okay, let's do it." Rogue said, as she strapped her Katana blade to her back, and then went to wrap her arms very tightly around the back of Nightcrawler's neck.

"I imagine that Gambit would be more than a little jealous, if he were to see the two of us right now?" Nightcrawler light-heartedly responded, as he in turn put his arms tightly around Rogue's waist and held her close to him. Nightcrawler then closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself to make perhaps the most dangerous teleportation jump of his life.

"So? Ah got first dibs on you, let him go find his own Elf to play with." Rogue playfully remarked into his ear, as she smiled and then closed her eyes, an instant before the air within the Blackbird imploded inward and the both of them disappeared in a cloud of sulfur-tinged smoke.

**…………………………………**

On the heli-carrier the Black team was deep within the mobile flying fortress, as they searched for a means of taking back control of the vessel without alerting the Sentinels to their presence.

"Looks like our friends are hard at work down there." Thunderbird was the first to say, as he and the rest of the Black team quietly watched the Sentinels through a small grated vent opening next to a narrow passageway four levels above. The Sentinels were down below on the spaciously huge observation bridge of the heli-carrier, busily working on some task currently unknown to the X-Men.

"Then, that's all the more reason for us to put a quick end to this, before they can unleash whatever it is they've got in store for us next." Cyclops stated, as he turned to Beast who was standing next to him, "Hank, have you pinpointed where the control room for the heli-carrier is located?"

"According to the schematics that we were able to appropriate, 'Slim', the mainframe control terminal should be across from us on the other side of the main bridge." Beast replied, as he studied a palm pilot device that he had significantly modified, and then pre-loaded an abundance of data into, including the heli-carrier's blue prints.

"Now that you know where it is, any ideas on how we're supposed get to it, Cyke?" Wolverine inquired.

"I'll do it." Shadowcat quickly volunteered, "I can go across that catwalk up above the main bridge that runs between the two sides. I shouldn't have any trouble phasing my way inside of the control room once I get there."

"Do you think that you'll be able to make it there without the Sentinels being alerted to your presence?" Forge inquired of Shadowcat.

"She will, because I'm going with her." Quicksilver now added, as he also volunteered his services, "My super-speed can quickly get us there and back, and slip us past any Sentinels that we may encounter along the way."

"Alright, both of you be careful." Cyclops said in approval, "Keep your comm-links open, the first sign of any trouble and I want you two to head back here on the double."

With that, Quicksilver picked Shadowcat up and cradled her in his arms, which she hadn't been expecting, and dashed off with her across the upper-level catwalk. In what seemed like, and was in reality, almost no time they were outside of the control room right where Beast had said that it would be located.

"Nothing like going from 0 to 100 in under six seconds to get your nerves nice and frazzled." Shadowcat jokingly said to Quicksilver, as he now sat her down on the ground.

"My niece doesn't seem to be bothered by it." Quicksilver replied, as Shadowcat took him by the hand, and then phased the both of them through the large steel in front of them, "A visit doesn't pass without her asking for a piggyback ride from her 'Unca Speedy'."

"You sound like a regular one-man fun park." Shadowcat continued with her light-hearted comments, as she walked up to the large computer terminal in the navigation control room and sat down to begin her hacking attempt, "As long as you don't try to charge me for a return trip, I'm copasetic about it."

Quicksilver then stood there in silence for a brief moment, looking over Shadowcat's shoulder as she rapidly typed keystroke after keystroke on the terminal.

"When you offered to come down here, I had wondered if SHIELD's programming system would be a little on the advanced side for you." Quicksilver remarked to Shadowcat, commenting both on her age and imparting his curiosity regarding her abilities.

"I'm really into computers and stuff, so I'm hanging in there with whatever encryptions and security walls this network can toss at me." Shadowcat enthusiastically replied, as she continued typing commands into the keyboard in front of her, all in an attempt to initiate an override sequence, "You should see what me and Beast have been working on back at the mansion, eventually I think it just might be on par with what they've designed here."

"My brother-in-law has always seemed to have a technological 'green-thumb', as it were." Quicksilver told Shadowcat, as she continued typing at a furious pace. But, she was paying enough attention to his comment to pose an inquiry of her own to him.

"Speaking of family and in-laws, I heard you yesterday talking about your family. So, Magneto's really your Dad?" Shadowcat asked him, with her eyes still trained on the monitor in front of her.

"He is." Quicksilver confirmed, after a short pause before he answered.

"What made you decide to get out of the family business?" Shadowcat continued, referring to his and the Scarlet Witch's decision to leave Magneto's Brotherhood when they weren't too much older than Shadowcat.

"I came to the conclusion that supporting rights for mutants doesn't automatically equate with having to deprive non-mutants of their right to live. I now realize that there has to be a more civil solution." Quicksilver articulately replied.

"If only your Dad and the rest of the folks on both sides that want to see mutants and humans dice each other up could figure that out, we'd all be living in a lot better place right about now." Shadowcat passionately stated, to which Quicksilver nodded his head in silent agreement.

Then, in the blink of an eye Shadowcat's enthusiasm instantly disappeared.

"**Aw, dammit**!" Shadowcat yelled, as she suddenly stopped her furiously-paced typing and slumped back into her chair.

"What is the matter?" Quicksilver worriedly inquired.

"Well, I've got good news, and I've got bad news." Shadowcat replied, as she spun around in her chair and looked up at her white-haired ally, "Good news is that the Sentinels', for whatever reason, have completely de-activated the heli-carrier's weapons and defensive grid. Bad news is that I was able to get into the control system, but that same counter-order is blocking all outside access to the navigation controls, and I can only override it from the terminal where it originated. The transmission looks like its coming from somewhere in New Mexico, so I'm guessin' that's most likely where their base is. I'm gonna go ahead and download these approximate coordinates into Dr. McCoy's palm-pilot and see what he thinks."

"If that is the case, then there's no point in us wasting anymore time here. We might as well go back and inform the others." Quicksilver said, as Shadowcat finished downloading the data and then stood up from her seat. The two of them then went over to the control room's door and phased through it, before using Quicksilver's blinding speed to dash off and return to where the rest of the Black team was waiting for them.

After gliding back on Quicksilver's swift feet to the concealed area in the upper levels of the heli-carrier, both he and Shadowcat went on to explain what the current situation was to their teammates.

"…and, so we decided to rush back here and let you know what the deal was, and see what we should do next." Shadowcat said, as she finished up their brief summary to the rest of the group.

"Say Dane, why don't you use some of that shaky magnetic vibe o' yours to just take control of this big bird?" Wolverine amicably asked Polaris.

"Yeah, and then for my next trick I'll make the world start spinning backwards." Polaris mockingly replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wolverine disconcertedly inquired.

"My powers do have limits. When I energized the cloaking device that got us in here, it was the greatest electromagnetic field that I ever tried to channel at one time, and I'm still feeling the after-effects." Polaris clarified, in regards to her mutant abilities and the physical toll that they could take on her, "Plus, the heli-carrier is a very large airship with extremely complex navigation controls. I have enough trouble magnetically hotwiring the Blackbird on a good day, I don't know if I could effectively maintain control over something this big."

"Then, just use your powers to turn the controls off." Thunderbird suggested next.

"I understand your logic in suggesting that Polaris employ an acute electro-magnetic pulse wave to disrupt the heli-carriers systems and knock them off-line," Beast chimed in.

"C'mon McCoy, we all know you've got a big 'but' that you're just dying to throw at us." Wolverine surmised.

"But, when taking into consideration its current speed and the momentum behind it, such an act could cause the heli-carrier to careen out of control and possibly crash into a populated area with most disastrous results." Beast finished, to which Wolverine simply grumbled in response.

"Well, since that first trip to suggestion box didn't turn up much, anyone else have two cents that they'd like to add?" The stalwart Thunderbird now asked everyone else.

"I do." Cyclops responded in an unequivocally confident tone, as he looked at the Black team huddled together with him, "We hit the Sentinels on board with everything that we've got, and take back control of the heli-carrier from them the hard way."

"It's about time we went and started rippin' shit up!" Wolverine anxiously remarked.

"Then, I suggest that we get this show on the road." Forge calmly added, as he flipped a small switch on the large rifle that he was carrying, which was a one-of-a-kind energy weapon of his own inventive design. His action started cycling up the energy cells in the weapon, now setting them to a maximum discharge level.

Just as the Black team was preparing to move out and go confront the Sentinels currently on the heli-carrier's main bridge below them, a voice cloaked in the nearby shadows of the tight corridor that they were standing in spoke.

"It looks like everybody and their cousin's decided to just write themselves an invitation onboard this high-security installation. If you don't mind, may I ask who the hell all of you are?" The new voice inquired of the Black team, as he approached them in the dark passageway, armed with a sophisticated and heavy-looking machine gun of his own that was currently pointed at the group. The young man slowly walking towards them appeared to be in his early to mid twenties, had wavy blonde hair, and was dressed in a dark-blue camouflage SHIELD uniform.

"We're the X-Men, and we've come to stop the Sentinels that've hijacked this ship." Cyclops said to him.

"Figures. This whole situation has already gone beyond weird, so it might as well step up to that next level of outer limits." The soldier, whose name ID tag over his left chest read Quartermaine, and whose stripes on his right shoulder indicated that he was a Senior Agent replied.

After a closer inspection, Agent Clay Quartermaine now recognized a couple of the faces in front of him and summarily lowered his weapon. He had remembered seeing them during an official and top-secret SHIELD briefing on the subject of Super-Human Affairs.

"I overheard you talking about taking the fight to the Sentinels. If that's the case, then all of you had better come with me and see my C.O. (Commanding Officer), General Fury."

The Black team then followed Quartermaine into a secret passage, which was hidden directly behind a nearby steel wall in the corridor, and led them to a secluded chamber that didn't appear on any of the blueprints of the heli-carrier. Quartermaine and his fellow SHIELD agents had retreated to this secret fall-back area in SHIELD's flying headquarters, after the Sentinels had managed to gain control of the gargantuan vessel following their surprise attack.

"General Fury, I came across this group of civilians on my way back from my recon assignment. They claim to be the X-Men, and say they want to assist us with taking down the enemy currently onboard." Quartermaine revealed to Lieutenant-General Jake Fury, the Director General and Supreme Commander over all SHIELD forces.

Jake Fury stood at about six feet, two inches tall, had very dark brown eyes and hair, and possessed a stocky, but athletically-built physique. He was also wearing a standard SHIELD camouflaged uniform that had a nine millimeter handgun kept in a shoulder-strapped holster, looking to be in his late thirties or possibly early forties.

"I know who they are." Fury replied to Quartermaine, as he stood amongst the crowd of other SHIELD agents. He then turned to visually inspect each member of the X-Men's Black team, "SHIELD has been well aware of your activities in Westchester, New York for some time now."

"So, you been writin' a book report about us or somethin'?" Logan sarcastically inquired.

"No. At SHIELD, we make it our business to know about absolutely everything that goes on." Fury answered, "Unfortunately, it appears that we miscalculated our assessment of the possible danger that the United States government's Project Wideawake and its secret Sentinel operation actually posed." Fury explained, as the roughly twenty to thirty agents in the room all stood and listened to the conversation.

"**Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that you've known all along that these Sentinels were being built, and you didn't do anything to stop them**!" An extremely infuriated Cyclops now shouted at General Fury, as it confirmed what Banshee had very recently been told by Larry Trask, that in fact the government had confiscated his father's Sentinel technology years ago.

"First off, I suggest that you lower your voice when you're talking to me, son." Fury replied with an unagitated, but very stone-faced expression, "Secondly, we've had grave reservations about Wideawake pursuing an aggressive Sentinel production program from the outset, especially after the incident on Muir Island, but they were deemed a necessary security precaution by those in the upper echelons of the US government. SHIELD's mandate is to confront terrorist and other rogue groups, and prevent them from carrying out acts of violence and intimidation against the rest of the world. Part of that mandate also allows us to gather intelligence on an international scale, but not to interfere in the policies dictated within free and democratic governments, unless we have proper justification in doing so."

"Would holding the President hostage and seizing control of your precious heli-carrier now qualify as proper justification?" Pietro disparagingly questioned Fury.

"That would be affirmative." Fury replied.

"What I don't get is why the Sentinels would take over this carrier to use it as a weapon, but go and turn its defensive grid off?" Shadowcat said, as she decided to interject herself into the conversation.

"I can answer that." Special Agent Sharon Carter, the Assistant Director of SHIELD, responded, "The Sentinels figured out that there is a self-destruct sequence built into the programming of the heli-carrier's defensive system, and disabled all of its defenses to prevent the sequence from being initiated."

Agent Carter possessed strikingly beautiful features with shoulder-length blonde hair, and she appeared to be in her late twenties. Additionally, instead of wearing SHIELD's standard military-style camouflaged uniform, she wore a white sport-coat embossed with SHIELD's insignia on the left shoulder, with a black tank-top underneath. She also had on skin-tight black leather pants, and a handgun similar to General Fury's in a holster by her right hip that was strapped around her waist.

"We've been fighting pitched battles off and on most of the night with the Sentinels, and have managed to take out a good number of 'em. We've been hoping that it will either force them to reactivate the defensive grid, or that we'll occupy them long enough for our forces that were sent to help with the crisis in D.C. to return with reinforcements." Fury told the Black team.

"It may be some time before your cohorts arrive. They seem to be in a stand down mode because of the hostage situation in Washington D.C., and do not want to endanger the President's life. So, it appears that we may be all that you will be receiving in the way of reinforcements, at least for the time being." Beast explained to the agents, who had been without communications from outside of the heli-carrier since the previous day, "Luckily, teammates of our own are on their way to Washington to help alleviate that particular situation."

"Then, we'll just have to take care of things on this end ourselves. But, we're running low on ammunition, and those Sentinels have our armory tightly guarded." Fury stated, as he turned to look towards Agent Quartermaine, "Were you able to turn up anything in regards to spare arms or ammo around the ship?"

"Just this machine gun, and a small caliber pistol that I found in one of the sub-levels." Quartermaine answered.

"Don't worry, we'll get past those Sentinels, and help you get to your weapons back." Thunderbird said to Fury and his agents.

"Good." Fury replied, as he looked around the room, "Everyone, let's get ready to move out."

The X-Men's Black team and the Agents of SHIELD then began to prepare themselves for battle, while Cyclops, General Fury, and Agent Carter set to devising an impromptu plan of attack.

**…………………………………**

Beneath the White House sat the special underground bunker referred to as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, or PEOC for short. The PEOC was originally set up to serve as an impenetrable backup command post for the President, his cabinet, and the rest of his staff. It was to be used in the event of some catastrophic incident taking place in the world such as a nuclear attack, or what had happened less than twenty-four hours right outside of their window.

Currently, President McKenna and the White House staff that happened to be present when the Sentinels laid siege to the Executive Residence were using the latest in technological equipment to monitor the events, as scant news and other communication feeds still managed to get through to them, despite the Sentinels signal jamming capabilities.

Then, in less than a split-second, their number was unexpectedly increased by two. Having been kidnapped by Colonel William Stryker and brainwashed into carrying out a Presidential assassination attempt, extensive knowledge of the White House and its complete layout had been drilled into Nightcrawler's memory. It was knowledge that still remained to this day and made it relatively simple for him to blindly teleport into the PEOC to rescue the President, even if the President and his Secret Service bodyguards were currently unaware of his reason for coming there

Nightcrawler and Rogue suddenly appeared before the President and his staff, dropping down out of the thin air from above the conference table in the PEOC, knocking over laptop computers, cups of coffee and other beverages, and scattering sheets of paper everywhere as they landed on the wooden surface. They had teleported into the bunker directly above the table, all in an attempt to make sure that they didn't accidentally teleport into a piece of furniture, or into one of the people inside.

"**I don't believe this, it's the crazy mutant that tried to kill the President**!** Circle around and open fire**!" Lead Secret Service Agent Calloway said, as he and the other agents clamored around the President, who was seated at the conference table in the PEOC. Then, each agent drew his or her weapon and prepared to fire.

"No, don't shoot, we're here to help! General Bridge is waiting for us to get you out of here." Rogue struggled to say to the President, as she managed to lift herself up to her hands and knees on the table. It was evident that the strain of the teleport had left both her and Nightcrawler momentarily disoriented.

"She is telling you the truth." Nightcrawler added to skeptical listeners, as he was finally able to position himself up to a crouching stance.

"Why should we believe anything you have to say?" The lead agent inquired.

"You'll just have to trust us." Rogue replied.

"We're not letting some mutant terrorists leave here with the President of the United States, to finish the job that one of you started last year." Another Secret Service agent adamantly stated, his gun still drawn and pointed at both Rogue and Nightcrawler.

"Those soldiers outside cannot make a move to retake the city from the Sentinels, until your safety has been assured." Nightcrawler said to the President.

"And they won't be able to do much about stoppin' the Sentinels that hijacked the heli-carrier either. Judgin' by the way those good-for-nothin's are actin', Ah doubt they're drawin' the line at just mutants anymore." Rogue also stated to the President in a matter-of-fact manner, as she sat up on the table.

"What will it be, _Herr_ President? Are you at last ready to make that next move with us?" Nightcrawler now asked President McKenna directly.

McKenna sat in his chair at the head of the table and considered what the two X-Men had said to him. He also thought about Nigthcrawler's query, which reminded him of the previous telepathic conversation that he had one floor level up in the Oval Office. It was with Professor Charles Xavier and all of the X-Men, hours after the psychic attack that attempted to destroy the minds of every living being on the planet.

Then, President McKenna finally came to his decision.

"Agent Calloway, have your men withdraw their weapons." President McKenna said, as he ordered the Secret Service agents to holster their handguns.

"Mr. President, are you sure about this?" The President's National Security Advisor asked him, as she stood next to him and the agents, as they were putting their guns back into their shoulder holsters.

"I'm positive. We have to do something, before those monsters use SHIELD's heli-carrier to take the whole world hostage." President McKenna replied to her, as he turned his attention to Rogue and Nightcrawler. As the pair climbed off of the table and walked over towards him, President McKenna posed a question of his own to them, "How do you intend to get me out of here?"

"The same way that we came in." Nightcrawler smirked with his response.

In a leap of faith, President McKenna went over and stood by Nightcrawler and Rogue in the bunker. Then the three of them embraced each other tightly, and in a flash they disappeared in a puff of blue-black smoke. This was the first time that Nightcrawler had teleported himself along with more than one person at such a lengthy distance, and he had been unsure as to what the effects would be on him and his passengers. But, he thought the reason for doing it was well worth any risk to himself. In the blink of an eye, Nightcrawler, Rogue, and President McKenna were back aboard the Blackbird, but the exertion of the trip had taken an obvious toll on the three of them, leaving the trio in an unconscious heap on the floor in the rear of the Blackbird.

"Uhhnnn…" Rogue moaned, as she was the first of the group to regain consciousness.

After gathering themselves, Rogue and President McKenna got up from the floor and immediately picked up a still unconscious Nightcrawler. They carried him over to a nearby med-lab bed that folded out and helped lie him down, so that he could recover after pushing his mutant abilities to their limits and beyond.

"Keep an eye on Kurt for me, Ah need to go radio the soldiers and let them know we got you out." Rogue said to President McKenna, as she turned to head for the cockpit of the plane.

**……………………………**

Onboard the SHIELD heli-carrier, the Sentinels had taken control of the stronghold and had also placed a contigent of eight units outside of the heli-carrier's armory to prevent the agents that were still on board from accessing the weapons inside to use against them. Fortunately for the SHIELD agents, they now had received help in the form of the X-Men's Black team currently onboard, although this would prove to be most unfortunate for the Sentinels.

As the Sentinels guarding the entrance to the armory stood outside of it and lined the corridor, General Jake Fury unexpectedly came around a corner at the end of the corridor and walked up to them.

"I could come up with some drawn out speech, or repeat some famous movie line telling you to get off of my plane. But, I think I'll just keep this simple and tell you flat out to give up, before I put one of my SHIELD-issued regulation boots right up your metal ass!" General Fury said, as he came and looked up directly at one of the Sentinels in the passageway.

"Unit 0447 initiating scan for mutagenic anomalies: subject does not possess anomalies. Subject identified as Jacob Fury, cross-referenced as Supreme Commander of the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Division. Subject is now ordered to surrender, or he will face lethal punitive retaliation." The Sentinel in front of General Fury replied, as all of the units were now focused on him.

"Well, if you boys take a look behind you, you just might rethink that idea about who's facing lethal retaliation." General Fury told them, as the loud 'Click-Clacking' sound of guns being loaded could be heard from behind, coming from the direction of where the armory was located.

The Sentinels turned around to see the armory door now forcefully opened by an electro-magnetic pulse, and standing in the entranceway were Polaris and Shadowcat. Floating in the air all around the pair were roughly a dozen large caliber machine guns, small rocket launchers, and grenade shell launchers, all with the Sentinels targeted in their scopes. Fury then quickly took cover on the ground, now that he had drawn the Sentinels attention long enough to allow Shadowcat and Polaris to phase into the armory. With a mental command from the Mistress of Magnetism, the weapons now fiercely unloaded their munitions into the Sentinels before they even had an opportunity to perform a genetic scan on the two ladies, and nothing was left of them except for obliterated scrap.

Once the shooting had stopped General Fury stood up from the steel floor, while the rest of the X-Men and SHIELD agents came around the corner to view the damage that had just been inflicted.

"Here, I think this one goes with your outfit." Polaris said, as she magnetically handed one of the large caliber rifles that fired spent uranium, armor-piercing bullets over to General Fury, whom she had also managed to magnetically shield from the flying debris resulting from the barrage of bullets and explosives that she had just unleashed.

Polaris proceeded to hand the rest of the weapons that were floating in the air around her to some of the other approaching agents. The rest of SHIELD's agents continued on into the armory to equip themselves with guns, ammunition, body armor, flame throwers, thermite explosives, and any other item within that they thought might be of use in their fight to retake the heli-carrier.

"Dane, forget what I said earlier about you. After seein' what you just did to our 'buddies' here, I'm damn glad you're on our team." Wolverine said as he came and stood close to Polaris half-teasing her, but also expressing an honest sentiment about her.

"Coming from a noted team player like yourself, don't mind if I blush a second or two from all the kudos you're throwing at me." Polaris whimsically replied.

The combined X-Men and SHIELD forces then began readying themselves for the real fight, as they were about to go and attempt to retake the heli-carrier. But, the Sentinels guarding the armory had managed to alert the other units before they were destroyed, and those Sentinels on the main bridge were now primed and ready for combat as well.

……………………………

Meanwhile, the battle between the X-Men's Gold team in Washington D.C. and the Sentinels was in full swing, as the neighborhood close to Liberté Park had come to resemble a war zone in a very short amount of time.

"It doesn't look like we'll be running out of targets to practice on anytime soon." Angel sarcastically said to Storm, as they both flew overhead above the massive twenty-foot tall Sentinels on the street below, firing explosive tipped arrows and bolts of lightning at them.

"So it appears." Storm replied, referring to the fact that even though they had destroyed more than a dozen Sentinels in as many minutes, she could see dozens more of the robotic constructs on their way in the distance to continue their battle against her and the X-Men.

Currently on the tree-lined street, Colossus was using his super-strength to physically manhandle and dismantle Sentinels one at a time. At the same time, Iceman maneuvered around the Sentinels on his ice-slide to freeze their circuitry, which damaged their internal components and in effect shut them down. Then, it occurred to Iceman that perhaps a little teamwork would accomplish their objective in a more timely manner.

"Hey Peter, how do you feel about a fastball special?" Iceman asked Colossus, as he slid by and stopped next to him.

"As the saying goes, load me up." Colossus replied.

Iceman immediately created a ball made of pure ice in his hands, which was roughly about the size of a beach ball. He then tossed it to Colossus, who immediately grabbed the frozen sphere and hurled the solid object at one of the Sentinels like a major league pitcher.

"Direct hit, my man!" Iceman exclaimed, as the ice ball ripped through the chest of one of the Sentinels and severely crippled it. Then, Iceman repeated the steps and started forming ice balls two at a time in each of his hands, expeditiously tossing Colossus one right after another in rapid succession. Colossus in turn used his incredible strength to violently hurl the ice balls at the Sentinels, sheering various parts of them off including their heads, arms, legs, and other robotic limbs.

But, the Sentinels soon caught on to this tactic and immediately countered by concentrating fire on Colossus and Iceman with energy beams from the palms of their hands, meant to separate the two X-Men by forcing them to dodge their blasts. Gambit, who was nearby and tangling with a couple of Sentinels of his own by tossing kinetically charged cards and metal throwing knives at them, was caught in the crossfire of the barrage by the Sentinels battling Colossus and Iceman and was knocked to the ground by flying debris from the street that hit him.

"I'm going to go help him out, but I'll leave this with you to play with. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what to do with it." Iceman said, as he created a huge baseball bat made out of ice and slung the heavy item over to Colossus.

"No, you most certainly do not, _Comrade_!" Colossus replied, as he took the ice bat in his right hand and tapped it on the ground, like a professional baseball player preparing to hit one out of the park. Colossus then attempted to do just that, as the steel-armored warrior ran at one of the Sentinels firing on them. He swung the bat, using the large robot for batting practice, shattering both the ice bat and the Sentinel's legs when they forcefully made contact together.

In the meantime, Iceman had quickly slid over to where Gambit was lying on the ground and used his ice beam to completely freeze the three Sentinels close by, before they could finish off his teammate.

"Need a lift?" Iceman now asked Gambit, standing over the Cajun member of the X-Men as he regained consciousness.

"Um, you sure you askin' de right _homm_é?" Gambit curiously inquired, as he sat up on the sidewalk.

"Well, you're the only guy I see taking a seat here on the concrete." Iceman humorously replied, with an icy smile and frosty breath that accompanied each syllable as it dissipated in the air.

"I s'ppose I can't argue wit' dat, _Mon Ami_." Gambit told Iceman, as he nimbly jumped up to his feet and hopped onto the back of his ice slide. It carried both Gambit and Iceman back over into action, against what now was starting to look like insurmountable odds. The horde of Sentinels continued their staccato march towards the X-Men from the upper end of the street, as their numbers seemed to be increasing exponentially.

Down the street from Iceman, Colossus, and Gambit, Jubilee had been busy blinding and frying the circuits of Sentinel units, setting them up for Havok to easily obliterate with his searing energy blasts. But, the Sentinels programming was designed to analyze and counter any strategy used against them, and they soon figured out this scheme. Two of them then turned all of their fire against Jubilee, in a desire to quickly eliminate her.

"**CrapCrapCrap**…why am I the one being chased and having to run all over the place, I'm not even the one with super-speed?" Jubilee silently lamented to herself, as she ran down the street and worked hard to evade the Sentinels' energy blasts being aimed at her, taking cover from the barrage by ducking behind a parked car nearby. The other X-Men took notice of their teammate's predicament and Storm, Angel, Colossus, Iceman, Gambit, and Havok all made a mad dash down to the end of the street where Jubilee was to help her.

All of a sudden, Jubilee became the recipient of some unexpected but very welcome assistance. It came in the form of a rounded red, white, and blue shield that was made from an indestructible vibranium-alloy, which came spinning through the air right overhead and ripped through the two Sentinels as though they were made out of paper.

"Wow, uh, thanks for the save." Jubilee told Captain America, as she stood up from the car that she had crouched on the side of.

"You're welcome." Captain America replied, as his right arm rose straight up into the air to catch his shield when it returned to him in boomerang fashion.

Then, all of the X-Men finally made it to where Jubilee and Cap where and gathered around them. But the many Sentinels, which at this point possibly numbered in excess of fifty, were hot on their trail as they pursued them down the street from its upper end.

"We've received word that the President is aboard your plane. Military forces are now moving into position to carry out phase two of this operation." Captain America said to Storm.

"I'd say they're getting into the act now." Havok said, as he saw Iron Man come rocketing overhead, laying down strafing fire from a shoulder mounted chain-gun and an ion pulse beam located on his chest plate.

Both Iron Man, and the heavily-armed helicopter gunships that rapidly flew up from behind to join him, targeted the Sentinels on the street below and halted their advance. Then, SHIELD and other military ground forces came rolling down the side street in front of the X-Men and Captain America in tanks and armored vehicles, as they sealed off both ends of the long street to block the Sentinels in and continue the battle in earnest.

"That is our cue to depart." Storm said to the Gold team, as she now contacted those onboard the Blackbird, "Rogue, Nightcrawler, this is Storm. Do you copy?"

"Rogue here. How're you guys holdin' up?" Rogue asked her.

"The military is taking over here and we're getting ready to move out." Storm replied.

"Okay, we'll pick you up not too far from where we landed." Rogue told her.

"We'll be there shortly." Storm said, as she signed off and the X-Men prepared to leave the neighborhood where Sentinels and military forces were now engaging each other in a furious battle.

"I'm coming with you to help free the heli-carrier from the Sentinels that hijacked it." Captain America told the X-Men.

"Your presence with us will most assuredly be welcome." Storm replied to him.

Then, Storm created a wind current around her and grabbed Havok and Jubilee by their hands, lifting off straight up into the air. Angel strapped the crossbow to his back and grabbed Gambit and a currently unarmored Colossus to carry them off as well.

Meanwhile, Iceman and Cap were the only two left behind on the ground.

"Guess that just leaves the two of us? I hope you don't mind traveling on a slippery block of ice?" Iceman jokingly asked him.

"I've traveled by every means of transportation known to man, so this is just one more for my dossier." Captain America replied, as he jumped on the ice slide behind Iceman, and the both of them took off skyward on a looping ice bridge that trailed far behind the other faster fliers. Iceman's ice bridge went up and over the roof of a nearby building, taking both of them to the street in close proximity where the Blackbird was waiting.

**……………………………**

Following a lengthy trip from the armory two levels below up to the forward observation deck on the heli-carrier, the combined forces of SHIELD and the X-Men's Black team were right outside of the entrance to the main bridge.

Cyclops walked right onto the expansive main bridge that seemed to be as large as an outdoor sports stadium. It was full of technological equipment and computer terminals with access to just about any piece of data that could be desired worldwide. As soon as he revealed himself, the nearly two-dozen Sentinels currently on the huge deck immediately performed a standard scan to identify Cyclops, but he simply stood there without saying a word. By this point, he knew that there was no reasoning with the gigantic robots and felt that the time for talking had long passed anyways. Instead, he let his actions speak for him as he opened the ruby quartz shield in his visor and unleashed a powerful optic blast, punching a whole right through one of the cybernetic units.

"Everyone lock and load, and let's move in." Agent Sharon Carter said to her fellow agents, as she took point and everyone went to enter the main bridge right behind Cyclops.

After Cyclops drew first, what took place next could best be described as a modern-day Wild West showdown. Both the Sentinels and their newly allied adversaries exchanged heavy fire with one another, both sides making full use of the modern day weaponry at their disposal.

"Don't any of you ease up one bit against these monsters, else they'll be mailin' you back home, postage-due!" General Fury shouted into his comm-device, as he fired off round after round at the Sentinels from his pump action rifle.

"Make sure that you aim for their weak spot." Agent Carter added, as she fired an RPG (Rocket-Propelled-Grenade) and aimed it at the right side of the Sentinel's head, which the X-Men had informed them was where their main processor was located.

The other SHIELD agents did just as General Fury and Agent Carter had ordered, as they set up a forward battle line by taking cover behind the various terminals and other technological equipment on the bridge, all the while with the Sentinels concentrating energy blast after energy blast at them. But, the Sentinels were firing their blasts extremely carefully and cautiously, all in an effort to preserve as much of the heli-carrier as possible from damage, which would work to the X-Men's and the Agents' advantage.

"I've never seen a rifle quite like yours before, it looks like something that came straight out of our experimental weapons division." SHIELD field operative Riddick Simon said to Forge, as he came up to join him and the other agents on the frontline now exchanging fire with the Sentinels.

"It's actually an advanced, semi-conductive particle accelerator that fires a tight and highly penetrating force beam." Forge replied, as he moved up while maintaining a close proximity to the floor in order to avoid a stray bullet, energy blast or an RPG that may be whizzing by overhead.

"I'm curious as to how effectively it functions in a battlefield environment?" Agent Kate Neville, who was one of SHIELD's top weapons specialist inquired.

"I'd be more than happy to demonstrate it for you right now." Forge replied, as he stood up and placed the butt of his rifle on his shoulder.

Forge proceeded to look through the rifle's targeting scope and trained it onto one of the Sentinels across the room, then fired. The blast from the rifle emitted a tremendous blue-colored light, before its accelerated propulsion-beam powerfully punched a hole into the Sentinel, large enough to drive a small truck through. But, the rifle blast then continued on unabated, as it was strong enough to pass straight through the exterior hull of the heli-carrier.

"That's some Saturday night special you're totin' around there." Wolverine commented to Forge, as he knelt down close by. Wolverine then turned his attention to Thunderbird, who was also crouching down behind an instrument panel next to him, "Say T-bird, what do you say about us more physical-types gettin' in on the action?"

"Fine by me. What do you have in mind?" Thunderbird responded.

"How's about you give me a lift, so I can deliver a personal 'Hello' to those jokers over there?" Wolverine requested, as he popped out the claws on his right hand with a 'Snikt', and pointed them in the Sentinels' general direction.

"Alright, just remember to watch that first step when you come down." Thunderbird replied, as he clasped both of his hands together by his knee in front of him, while Wolverine stood up and ran right towards him.

As Wolverine jumped up to place one foot in Thunderbird's tremendous grasp, Thunderbird catapulted the feral mutant about thirty feet into the air, which was only half the distance up to the observation bridge's ceiling. Wolverine performed a graceful somersault in mid-air, and angled himself to come down behind one of the Sentinels. Wolverine them slammed one set of his claws into the back of the Sentinel to halt his descent, and pulled himself up on top of its shoulder. Crouching down by the right side of its head, Wolverine started clawing furiously at the cybernetic creation like a man possessed.

"Unit 0669 experiencing technical deficiencies resulting from assailage by subject: John Logan, cross-referenced as Weapon X: sub-categorization: 'Logan', also cross-referenced as Weapon X: Wolverine" The Sentinel said, as Wolverine ripped out its main CPU unit out from its robotic skull and shut it down completely.

Now deactivated, the Sentinel simply fell to the metal floor of the heli-carrier with a loud clang, while a few of its fellow units turned their attention and fire on the mutant that had brought it down. As Wolverine feverishly dodged their energy blasts, assistance arrived for him in the form of a three hundred and fifty pound battering-ram that had used his tremendous leg strength to run and fly through the air, launching himself at the Sentinels from the other side of the expansive observation deck with both fists held out in front of him.

"Hope you don't mind, but you looked like you could use a hand or two." Thunderbird said to Wolverine, after hitting the Sentinel with such a high impact that he crashed unimpeded through the giant construct.

"Nah, there's more 'n enough to go around." Wolverine replied, as he and Thunderbird prepared to take on more of the Sentinels, when some more of their teammates decided to join them in the fray.

"I'm most exhilarated that you feel such generous and unselfish sentiments." Beast now said, as he came smashing down on one of the Sentinels, having made his way across the observation deck directly above on the ceiling. Since his uniform was somewhat similar to the one that Nightcrawler wore, his boots had been specially designed to allow him unfettered use of his mutant abilities that granted him heightened agility and dexterity to climb on walls and other surfaces. Now atop the twenty-foot tall Sentinel, Beast took hold of its head and used his own rather formidable strength to seamlessly detach the robot's cranium from the rest of its body.

Then without warning, a mini-tornado came whirling by and entangled the three remaining Sentinels that were fast approaching Beast, Wolverine, and Thunderbird. But, this unnaturally confined cyclone was not the doing of their teammate Storm, rather, it was the result of the nimble-footed Quicksilver using his mutant super-speed. He was running in a tightly defined circle at such an incredible rate, that the very air around him began to swirl at his command. The three Sentinels were caught up in this one-man twister and were violently thrown into a reinforced wall of the heli-carrier, severely crippling them as a result.

"I hope that you're not planning on bringing that home as a souvenir for my niece?" Quicksilver drolly inquired, as he walked over to join the other X-Men. He was referring to the Sentinel's head that Beast was still holding in his hands, which wasn't overly taxing in its weight but still measured in at a sizable four feet in diameter.

"You are unerring in your pronouncement. Bestowing this severed crown as an early birthday gift for my daughter would, after all, be in exceptionally poor taste." Beast humorously replied, as he hadn't really paid attention to the fact that he was still holding the head, until Quicksilver pointed it out to him.

"Well, are you guys ready to make some more souvenirs?" Thunderbird now asked the small group of four, as the rest of the Sentinels were still occupied in exchanging fire with their teammates and allies on the other side of the huge observation chamber.

"Hell, I say we go and gift-wrap 'em while we're at it." Wolverine replied in agreement.

"Then, let's see how cleverly we can tie a bow using the Sentinels' severed limbs for ribbon." Beast happily said, as he finalized the conversation and tossed the Sentinel's head to the side. He, Wolverine, Thunderbird and Quicksilver all dashed off towards the Sentinels and attacked them from behind, forcing their foes to contend with a battle now on two fronts.

Meanwhile back on the frontline, Shadowcat and Polaris were in close proximity to General Fury, Cyclops and Agent Carter, as they continued firing their weapons and optic beam at the Sentinels. Shadowcat then immediately took notice of the four man wrecking crew brutally going to town on the Sentinels, as they were manhandling a small number of the robotic beings.

"I'm not gonna let the guys have all of the fun out there, I can at least use my phasing power to short-circuit a couple of those bucket-heads so they can come and finish them off." Shadowcat said to Polaris, who was standing right next to her. As she was about to go out on the battlefield to help her teammates with their effort, Polaris stopped Shadowcat and pointed out that such an action could be accomplished by a more efficient means.

"That won't be necessary, Kitty. Just because these Sentinels were built with only small amounts of ferrous metal to be more resistant to us 'magnet-people', it doesn't mean that they're immune to my powers. Their electronic circuits are more than vulnerable to my whims." Polaris said, as she mentally summoned an electro-magnetic field around one of the Sentinels and tightened it inward, completely disrupting the robot's processing systems and doing extensive damage to its internal circuit boards as they burnt themselves out.

"You've just given me an idea." General Fury said to Polaris, as he watched her disable one Sentinel after another, and then spoke into his earpiece communicator, "Agent Neville, do you copy?"

"Agent Neville here, what are your orders?" Agent Neville replied over her comm-device.

"Did you bring that experimental electro-spear from the armory with you?" Fury asked her.

"Affirmative, it's here with me and Agent Simon." Agent Neville answered, as she continued exchanging fire with the Sentinels, all the while talking to General Fury at the same time.

"Go ahead and start prepping it, because I think I've finally found a practical use for that damn thing." General Fury told her, as he then went over to Cyclops and told him to call the four X-Men currently on the battlefield back to them.

In less than a minute Wolverine, Beast, Quicksilver, and Thunderbird had fallen back to the frontline position with everyone else, as the firefight with the Sentinels continued. General Fury then ordered Agent Neville to fire the electro-spear, which looked something like a harpoon gun with a lengthy cable attached to it that ran into a moderately-sized portable electric generator.

Agent Simon fired the spear-gun, landing the electro-spear right by the Sentinels. Agent Neville then punched codes into a hand-held device that allowed her to set a force field parameter for the weapon. Once it was established, she activated the device and a powerful electric current passed through the cable, electrocuting everything within the force-field's parameters, namely the Sentinels. Polaris then used her own abilities to increase the electro-spear's force-field effect, causing the remaining Sentinels to fall to the ground before them.

"All Agents, concentrate fire on the fallen targets, don't stop until destruction of their main processors are visually confirmed." Agent Carter ordered, as she, the rest of the SHIELD agents, and Cyclops finished off the fallen Sentinels.

After the barrage of weapon's fire had concluded, SHIELD and the X-Men stood victorious after having done the spectacular by seizing the heli-carrier and taking it back from the Sentinels.

"I wish I could say that's all she wrote, but we've still got some unfinished business with them in New Mexico. They're holding a close friend of ours prisoner, and we don't intend on going home without her." Cyclops resolutely said, as he stood face to face with General Fury, "Unless, you plan trying to stop us unauthorized civilians from busting into a top-secret installation?"

"Those Sentinels took the President hostage and tried to swipe this ship. So yeah, we're going with you to finish this payback." General Fury pledged.

"Hopefully our people in Washington D.C. were just as successful as us in taking care of the contingent in control of that city, and have gotten the President to safety. I'm going to go to our plane in the lower level hangar of this ship to try and contact them." Cyclops stated.

"While you're doing that, I'll put together a small strike force of our own to go with you. We should be ready to depart within the hour." General Fury replied, as he turned towards another soldier, "Agent Quartermaine, I want you to gather a small squad and sweep through the rest of the heli-carrier to see if there are anymore stray Sentinels hiding out. Make sure to check out the tracking dome, the missile deployment silos, the rear-defense armament sector, and the communications tower. Agent Carter, I want you to see if you can get a message to SHIELD CENTRAL and let them know what's happened. I'm going to go check on the soldiers being taken down to the infirmary, I know we've sustained some injuries and a few possible casualties."

While Quartermaine quickly picked eight of his fellow SHIELD agents and led the small cadre to conduct their search, the X-Men left the main bridge of the heli-carrier right behind Cyclops to aid them in their probe. Meanwhile, General Fury and Agent Carter also left bridge so they could assess how they had fared in the fight, and to check the status of their own in the infirmary. In addition, it now fell to them to decide which other agents would be going with them, on what might turn out to be a suicide mission by walking right into the Sentinels' stronghold at the headquarters of Project Wideawake.

**……………………………**

In just a couple of minutes, the X-Men's Gold team-plus one had boarded their plane on the western side of the White House, sitting on a street not too far from its open lawn area.

"Everyone, get buckled in and prepare for immediate takeoff." Storm said, as most of the X-Men went to take seats in the passenger section of the plane. She then turned her attention to Rogue, who was sitting in the pilot's chair, "How are Kurt and President McKenna?"

"They're fine, but Kurt's still unconscious from the 'port." Rogue replied.

"I need to go check on him." Storm replied, as Angel then spoke to her.

"Go ahead 'Ro, I'll keep an eye on things up here. It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure I remember how to fly one of these things." Angel stated, as he sat down in the co-pilot's chair next to Rogue, while Storm went to the rear of the plane to check on Nightcrawler's current condition.

Jubilee went and sat down in one of the chairs in the passenger section in the middle of the plane, with Captain America taking a seat next to her. Colossus and Gambit were seated in the row directly in front of her, with Iceman across the aisle from them, and Havok in the row right behind her. With Storm now in the rear of the plane with Nightcrawler, President McKenna came and took a seat with the others in the middle of the plane.

"Good morning, Mr. President." Captain America said, as he stood up and laid his shield down in his chair before saluting his Commander-in-Chief.

"Good morning, Captain. I wasn't aware that you were involved in this operation." President McKenna cordially replied.

"I arrived shortly before it got underway." Captain America revealed, as he sat back down in the seat next to Jubilee, while the Blackbird fired its vertical thrusters to make a quick take-off.

"So, I guess you guys must be feelin' the major jeebies about bein' on a plane full of mutants?" Jubilee now posed to both Captain America and President McKenna.

"Not particularly. What would make you think that, young lady?" Captain America was the first to ask her in response.

"I guess you must not watch much news or TV? According to that guy running for Senate, Graydon Creed and The Friends of Humanity supportin' him, mutants are like the cause of every major thing that's wrong with today's society." Jubilee clarified for him.

"Well, I learned a long time ago not to let my opinions of certain groups of people be influenced by individuals with a fanatic political agenda. I've seen where that road can lead, and it's one I'd hope to never have to travel down again." Captain America very poignantly replied.

Everyone seated in the cabin with Captain America was impressed at how he had managed to make his point in such a brief and eloquent manner. None more so than President McKenna, who more than anything took heed of the thinly-veiled reference in his words.

"All I know is that I'm gonna be the envy of all of those political people you're talkin' about. I'm sitting here next to Captain freakin' America and the President of the United States! You better believe they'd pay top dollar for a photo-op like this." The very outgoing Jubilee said, as she continued talking to Captain America.

"I don't know if that is quite the way I would phrase it." President McKenna commented to Jubilee.

"Don't worry, your fund-raising secrets are safe with me." Jubilee happily remarked to the President, before turning her attention back to Cap, "You know, that's some outfit you've got goin' on there."

"I suppose it must seem pretty outdated to a youngster like yourself." Captain America replied, in reference to his Star-Spangled attire.

"Puh-shaw, no way! I mean, it's definitely on the retro side, but it looks like it's workin' for you. Shows everybody you've got guts by makin' an in-your-face fashion statement like that." Jubilee cheerfully told him.

"You certainly are chipper, especially considering everything that has happened this morning." President McKenna pointed out, regarding Jubilee's vibrant personality.

"Yeah, I'm just as amazed as you. I mean, I'm not even a morning person or anything." Jubilee quipped to him, "Must be all of that almost-getting-stomped-on-by-giant-robot action that's got me so wired."

Just then, as the Blackbird reached its cruising altitude of twenty thousand feet in airspace over the eastern edge of Maryland, action of another sort now made its presence known.

"Um, guys, looks like we might have trouble." Angel said to everyone in the cabin, as he monitored the radar readout from the co-pilot's chair, "Five F-16 fighter jets just popped up out of nowhere, and crept in behind us."

"Again I ask, how'd they find us if we s'ppose t'be invisible t'their radar? Gambit wondered aloud, as he reiterated his point from earlier that morning.

"Don't worry, Sugah." Rogue said, reassuring him, "When we made it back to the Blackbird from the White House, Ah radioed the SHIELD ground forces to let them know. General Bridge sent me coordinates for some special base in Nebraska, and said for us to get the President there ASAP."

"I'll hail them and identify ourselves." Captain America said, as he went up to the front of the plane with Rogue and Angel. He then opened up a communication device strapped to his wrist, and ran a search to patch him directly into the frequency of the jetfighters now flanking the Blackbird, "This is Bluebird. I'm onboard this craft with Bald Eagle, which has been temporarily designated as Air Force One, do you copy?"

"We copy. This is Major Fairborne, Captain. We've been apprised of the current operation that you are involved in, and have been assigned to escort the President to Offutt AFB where the First Lady and their son are waiting." The flight leader replied, "But, we had some difficulty in locating this plane, it's not showing up on any of our radar sensors. Luckily, we were already airborne and on standby when we received the call from General Bridge. If he hadn't given us your time of departure from Washington and what your estimated flight plan and destination would be, we might not have caught up to you at this rendezvous point."

"Yes, I know. It appears that whoever did the work on this plane just might be capable of giving Tony Stark a good run for his money." Captain America replied, right before he signed off and went to sit back down in the seat next to Jubilee.

Meanwhile, the Blackbird and the USAF fighter squadron continued on their current trajectory together, heading towards the military installation in Nebraska.

**…………………………**

A short time later, the Gold team's Blackbird received another message as they were lifting off from Offutt AFB, having just dropped the President off at the heavily defended military base. But, the message being sent to them this time came from a party with a much more personal connection to the X-Men.

"Come in Gold team, this is Black leader. Do you copy?" The voice of Cyclops now said over the Blackbird's comm-channel on their plane, after he and the rest of the Black team had just finished their sweep of the heli-carrier alongside Agent Quartermaine and the other SHIELD agents.

"Rogue here, Cyclops." Rogue replied to him, as she continued monitoring the

instrument panel in front of her.

"We've just stopped the Sentinels on board the heli-carrier, how is your part of the mission proceeding?" Cyclops asked.

"We've got everything under control here. The President is safe, and the military forces in D.C. are fightin' to free the city right now." Rogue answered.

"With the way things are going, it looks like we'll be back home in time for mid-morning coffee." Angel light-heartedly added from the co-pilot's chair.

"Not quite. Even though we've beaten the Sentinels on board the heli-carrier, they've still got some sort of outside access program overriding its controls and its is heading towards New Mexico where their home base is located." Cyclops revealed to Angel, "We're preparing now to move out ahead of the heli-carrier to rescue Dr. MacTaggert, and to put a stop to whatever else they've got planned before they can successfully execute it. I'm sending the coordinates of the rendezvous point, pass it along to Storm and all of you can join us as soon as you can."

"Okay, we're already airborne and headin' on our way to catch up to you now." Rogue said to Cyclops, as she prepared to set a new flight course for the Blackbird.

"Affirmative, Cyclops out." Cyclops said, as he electronically relayed the information that Shadowcat had uncovered to Rogue, and then signed off.

As the rest of the Black team started to settle into their seats on the Blackbird, General Fury, Agent Carter, and a group of ten of the finest SHIELD agents on the heli-carrier came up the ramp from the hangar outside.

"Gaawwdd Logan, do you just have to bring that thing in here!" Shadowcat now said to Wolverine, referring to his cigar that he had lit in the hangar outside before coming to take a seat in the middle section of the Blackbird across the aisle from her.

"Yup." Wolverine defiantly smirked, as he continued to puff on his pungent-smelling, but deeply gratifying compulsion.

"How can you smoke those things anyways?" Shadowcat disapprovingly remarked, as she continued with her chastisement of his activity.

"Easy, like this kid." Wolverine tauntingly replied, as he blew out a cloud of cigar smoke upwards inside of the cabin, and continued his test of wills with the young lady that had absolutely no problem in letting him know what was on her mind.

"Well, unlike you the rest of us don't have healing factors to keep us from getting cancer from all of that second-hand smoke you're pollutin' the plane with, which you would know about if you'd bother to pick up a medical journal from the last twenty years, or just read the Surgeon General's warning on the side of the…" Shadowcat started to rattle off, when Wolverine interrupted her.

"Alright 'Short-stuff', you win. You can lay off on the federal case you're buildin' against me." Wolverine finally conceded, as he bent forward in his seat and put the cigar out on the heel of his boot.

"I understand where you're coming from." General Fury now commented to Shadowcat, as he walked past both her and Wolverine and headed towards the seating area in the rear of the Blackbird, "My Dad smokes those things like there's no tomorrow, even at his age and despite my Mother telling him that it's past time he gave them up."

As General Jake Fury continued on and then sat down on one of the bench seats alongside the men and women under his command with his semi-automatic rifle laying across his lap, he tried to focus on the mission at hand. But, as Forge and Beast put the Blackbird through its pre-lift off procedures, all Fury could think about was his father.

Jake was, after all, the son of the one and only Colonel Nick Fury, the man regarded as the chief defender of world democracy from World War II up until the years preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall, and to many a veritable living legend. Trying to following in such distinguished footsteps was difficult enough for those that had succeeded Nick Fury as Director General following his retirement from SHIELD, the organization that he had helped to build from scratch during the height of the Cold War era. But, trying to do so while also having to bear the same last name as, and receiving the inevitable comparisons to his famous father made the task just that much more burdensome.

Jake Fury had established a distinguished military career of and on his own, beginning with his graduation from West Point. He then saw action as a part of covert military operations during the 1980's, including stints in Afghanistan to secretly help in the fight against the Soviet's occupation and then on various assignments throughout the rest of the world, before eventually joining SHIELD and serving under his father during his final years of tenure with the espionage organization.

Jake Fury's promotion into the position of Director General of SHIELD more than a decade and a half after his father's retirement had, for the most part, been greeted with optimism and positive anticipation. The years following the end of the Cold War had seen SHIELD's reputation diminish in the eyes of much of the rest of the world, and it was hoped that Fury's insertion as its head would return the organization back to its glory days.

Then, came September 11th and the horrific events of that unforgettable morning.

In the weeks and months that followed the tragedy, calls came for General Fury to resign as director and they were loudly voiced. Many of his critics stated that SHIELD's continuing pre-occupation with the now extremely fractured terrorist organization known as HYDRA had blinded them to the other areas where their intelligence work should be focused in a modern world, and argued that the renowned intelligence agency was in need of vast and extensive restructuring in regards to its purpose and objective.

There were also those within and outside of the world's intelligence community who vocally asserted that there were other individuals, even within SHIELD, that were far more qualified to run it than Fury. For example, Europe's premier super-agent Captain Natasha Romanova, known only to the rest of the world as the elusively code-named _Black Widow_. They argued that her experience in dealing with the multiple hot zones that sprang up in the wake of communism's fall made her the ideal candidate to handle the myriad of easily, and not so easily, recognizable threats the world now faced. But, Fury's critics also believed that politics were being played, and that the secretive and confidential board of directors that governed SHIELD were unfairly holding the KGB work that Captain Romanova had been involved in during her years prior to joining SHIELD against her. In their eyes, it was so the status quo could keep their boy 'Nick Jr.' in charge, a name that those who disapproved of him privately and sometimes publicly used when referring to General Jake Fury.

As General Fury continued to sit silently on the Blackbird with his thoughts, he wondered if this fiasco with the Sentinels taking the President of the United States hostage, and then attempting to hijack their own heli-carrier right from under their nose, wouldn't wind up being the final nail in SHIELD'S coffin?

**……………………………**

Having left the heli-carrier's technical commander and seasoned veteran Jasper Sitwell behind and in charge, with SHIELD's most technologically experienced agents to aid him in their continuing search for a means of freeing the ship from the Sentinels' control, the Blackbird ferried the X-Men's Black team and the SHIELD strike force to a small and long abandoned military base in New Mexico. It was located halfway between Alamogordo and Roswell, which was where the headquarters of Project Wideawake was apparently located. As the group disembarked from the plane, they found themselves met by the sight of miles on top of miles of prairie land, rolling grass and shrubs that went over a slightly hilly landscape.

"Some set-up these guys've got here." Shadowcat remarked, as she came down the ramp of the Blackbird behind her teammates, surveying the dilapidated buildings and hangars on what was left of the air-field that had originally been built before World War II.

"Don't be fooled, not everything is always as it seems." Thunderbird wisely pointed out to Shadowcat, as he and a few of the SHIELD agents came down the ramp behind her.

"Yeah, I'm gettin' that whole Area 51 vibe from this place already." Shadowcat retorted.

"Project Wideawake's facilities actually are buried deep underground, and the entrance should be over that next hill." Agent Carter said, as she and the rest of the SHIELD agents and the last of the X-Men came down as well.

As the group walked across the tarmac, passing a number of empty and rundown airplane hangars, they headed towards the hilltop entrance at the far end of the runway area and Cyclops found himself being raised on his earpiece communicator.

"Cyclops, this is Storm." Storm said to him over the communication channel.

"Cyclops here, go ahead." Cyclops said, as he stopped walking to reply.

"We've picked up your Blackbird's homing signal, and are nearing the coordinates that you transmitted to us. We should be landing shortly." Storm informed him.

"Okay, we're already out on the ground now and heading for the Sentinel's underground bunker. We'll wait for the rest of you to get down here before we proceed inside." Cyclops responded.

The group on the ground then looked skyward to see the Gold team's Blackbird fly by, and then slowly descend to vertically land on the runway next to Black team's plane. Then, they were also met with the impressive sight of seeing a large number of USAF and SHIELD fighter jets come flying in overhead, after being scrambled from various bases around the country and given orders from SHIELD high command and the United States' Commander-In-Chief to head with the X-Men to assist in stopping the Sentinels.

As the ground team neared the bunker entrance buried inside of the large hilltop, which was disguised to make it look like a nondescript equipment depot, the very earth beneath their feet began to unexpectedly tremble. Then, the hilltop that stood about one hundred yards from them suddenly and completely exploded outward, forcing everyone to take cover on the ground. Out of the dust and shattered soil that resulted from the eruption, Sentinel after Sentinel after Sentinel poured forth. They used the rocket boosters built into their cybernetic legs to take flight, and immediately went to confront the fighter jets that were patrolling high above.

The dozens of Sentinels and the fighter jet squadron in the atmosphere aggressively engaged one another, as a titanic and monumental air battle was now taking place in the sky directly above. But not to be forgotten, the X-Men and SHIELD agents on the ground were left to contend with more Sentinels coming out of the underground complex, specifically sent to ensure that they did not enter the confines of Project Wideawake.

"Battlefield positions everyone, don't make yourself an easy target for them!" Cyclops shouted to his Black team, as everyone including the SHIELD agents fell back to more defensive positions away from the bunker entrance, while the squad of Sentinels flew and aimed heavy energy blasts at them.

The Sentinels landed on the ground close to the group, in an area between the rundown airplane hangars, and continued their assailage with non-stop energy fire from the openings in their palms. Their shots were countered by Cyclops' optic beams and by the SHIELD agent's weapons fire, while the non-energy wielding members of the Black team attempted to move into positions to better use their varied abilities to mount a counter-attack. On the far end of the runway, the Gold team saw the skirmish that was taking place in the distance and quickly disembarked from their plane so they could help their friends.

Meanwhile, Polaris used her magnetic powers to pull parts of the damaged hangars up from around them, and use the debris as metal projectiles to hurl at the Sentinels. Thunderbird and Quicksilver were using their combined super-speed and super-strength to quickly take down a small number of Sentinels that were currently pursuing them through the base. But, when a stray energy blast from one of the Sentinels hit a nearby hangar that still had some kind of flammable items within, it caused the structure to detonate and knock the two men to the ground. Luckily, a huge steel beam from the demolished structure magnetically lifted itself into the air and tore itself through the Sentinels responsible for the damage.

"Nice save, Dane." Wolverine said, as he saw what had happened and complimented Polaris on her heads up play to help out Thunderbird and Quicksilver.

"I wish I could take credit for it, but it wasn't me." A confused Polaris replied, as she continued to magnetically pick up small bits of metal debris around herself.

"Well, then who was it?" A nearby Shadowcat inquired.

"That would be me." Another, new male voice now said.

"**Sonuvabitch**!" Wolverine loudly growled, as he instantly recognized the voice and the scent now approaching them.

If the first display of power didn't automatically make obvious to the group battling the Sentinels who had just arrived, the sight of an enormous firebird swooping in overhead to engulf the remaining Sentinels in a literal inferno definitely should have.

Magneto and his Brotherhood's presence had now been announced, in a most unmistakable manner, as all nine of them walked right through a very wide passageway in the flames that had been mentally repulsed by one of their own.

"Ten Sentinels down, and a shitload more to go." Pyro remarked to Magneto and the rest of his Brotherhood teammates, with a tremendous amount of contempt for, and defiance of the Sentinels in his voice.

Dressed in a dark reddish-orange leather uniform trimmed in black, which was accessorized by a backpack that provided a constant line of fuel to ignite the flamethrower mechanisms attached to each wrist, Pyro lifted his orange-tinted goggles up to his brunette hair to turn and look directly at the X-Men and SHIELD agents he and Magneto had just helped to save.

"What are all of you doing here?" Cyclops immediately asked Magneto, in a tone that displayed the tension and uneasiness he harbored towards the man who had apparently come to lend his assistance.

"Come now, did Charles really believe that I would let his children take all of the credit for saving our people this day?" Magneto replied with a huge grin, as he removed his trademarked dark magenta-colored helmet.

Meanwhile, the Gold team along with Captain America had finally managed to reach the large group now assembled together in between the numerous hangars of the airbase, which secretly harbored the headquarters of Project Wideawake below. Experience had taught the X-Men that when dealing with Magneto, to expect for any offer of his to help them to also carry with it some degree of Machiavellian intent, which they were more than ready to contend with.

Just as they were now ready to face the Sentinels in a most decisive final confrontation, one which would unquestionably determine the fate of their's and of mutantkind's very survival…

**………………………………**

Next Chapter**: Say Hello to the Bad Guy**…

**………………………………**

A/N: Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter

**ishandahalf**- Glad you loved one last Romy moment, before all of the action kicked into high-gear. I also hope you're enjoying the high-gear action too, especially now that the moment of truth has shown up with a buncha rowdy friends.

**Episodic**- I'm glad you like the addition of more people, since even more people showed up in this chapter too. As far as the grand showdown vs. everyone sitting around and talking, I think I tried to have some of both in this chapter, but let me know what you think.

**El Varon**- Glad you liked the chapter! I always worry that things might start to ramble on, so I like to keep things moving along and drag as little as possible. As far as Storm, I'd say she's beyond angry. After being ambushed, blasted, and almost drowned by a Sentinel, you can't really blame her.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Glad you loved the school reunion chapter, and Rogue and Remy's moment together. I hope you liked the action in this chapter, and I think you'll really like the next one too…

**TheDreamerLady**- Glad you liked the Kiotr, and everything that went along with it. Sorry about it being so long, but after next chapter I think things will start to shorten back down again, so I hope you hang in there.

**plutospawn**- Glad you like the chapter, and I hope I didn't keep you from your work for too long. As far as the large cast, I think that's one of the reasons I'm such an X-fan because there are so many personalities that interact with one another in different ways, and sometimes come into conflict. With Hank, he's basically gotten the short end of the stick in every incarnation I've seen him, so I thought it was about time he and Wanda saw a little happiness, so why not with one another?

**LucreziaNoin86**- I'm happy to pick up a new reviewer. I'm glad you like everything I've written so far, because I hope things'll only get better from here.

By the way, I like your choice of screen name. Lieutenant Noin was one of my favorite character's in Gundam Wing, behind Zechs, Duo, Treize, and Lady Une.


	12. Showdown

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

**………………………………………..….**

Chapter 12- Showdown

At Xavier's School for the Gifted in Westchester County, New York, the members of the student body that were still on campus were now wide-awake in the early morning hours. And just like the rest of the country, they were also waking up to see that the fight to stop the Sentinels and take back Washington D.C. from them had begun in earnest, as they watched the battle in living color on nearly every television channel.

_"…In an apparent pre-dawn raid, military forces have finally moved against the giant robotic Sentinels currently in control of Washington D.C, reportedly luring them into a confrontation mere blocks away from the White House, all while warships from the U.S. Navy's Atlantic fleet are rumored to be amassing along the Eastern coastline in anticipation of a larger military offensive._

_Keeping in mind the threatening ultimatum that the Sentinel's leader made regarding action being taken against them, it is unclear as to the status and/or whereabouts of President McKenna at this time, but there are currently no reports of hostile fire in the immediate vicinity of the White House or about there being any damage to…hold on…I'm being told now by our production room that we've just received exclusive GNN footage of the skirmish captured moments ago, and that we will be bringing that to you at any moment_ _now..."_

As the camera feed switched from GNN anchorwoman Trish Tilby to the footage that had minutes ago been submitted to the network from its correspondent team on the ground, Siryn, Cannonball, Mirage, Warpath, Circuit, Wolfsbane, Rictor, Magma, Sunspot, and Multiple Kid were all watching the news in the main living room of the mansion, with a few of them having some very vocal reactions to it.

"_Droga_! We should be out there too, using our powers to help the X-Men and those soldiers fight the Sentinels." Roberto DaCosta ardently articulated, as he stood up from the sofa that he had been seated in.

"You won't get an argument from me, but you heard what Professor Xavier said. He doesn't think we're old enough, or have enough control over our powers to go out on missions yet." Danielle Moonstar replied from a close by chair.

"Yeah, but Kitty gets to go. And she's the one that freaked over the Sentinels in the first place." Jaime Madrox pointed out next.

"Ye know it's because she's the Professor's favorite. If we had an IQ of a million, we'd probably get t'do whatever we wanted too." Theresa Cassidy remarked next, as she sat on the sofa with Jaime and Roberto.

"Well, I don't care what ye say, Kitty's never been anythin' but nice t'me. And I won't be sittin' here t'help ye badmouth her either, especially when she's not here to defend herself. Right now, all I'm hopin' and prayin' is that they bring Miss Moira back home safe from wherever those Sentinels took her." Rahne Sinclair told the entire room, as she sat on the floor by the sofa clutching one of its pillows close to her, as she less than eagerly took in the violent images of the fighting in D.C. now being broadcast on TV.

"Nobody's trying to put Kitty down, we're just trying to make a point, that's all." James Proudstar responded to Rahne's statement, as he stood close by in the room.

"And my point is I'm sick of being held back for no good reason!" Roberto passionately asserted to his classmates.

Even though Roberto was referring to his desire to learn how to fully use his mutant abilities, his statement summed up the sentiments of most of his classmates. Despite the fact that a couple of them were still fairly New Mutants to the school, most of the others felt that the time had come for them to join their peers, and to at least begin the training and preparation needed for the day when they themselves would be counted amongst the ranks of the X-Men.

It was a point that resonated with those inside of the room, but also with one other individual right outside of it. Not that he had been eavesdropping on his students, but Professor Xavier had happened to be wheeling by the room out in the hallway and couldn't help but overhear the conversation taking place within. He also couldn't help but realize that perhaps his students had valid grievance with him as well.

Professor Xavier had never intended to make it seem like he favored Kitty over the rest of them, but there was no denying the fact that Kitty was unique in the way that she so greatly excelled in so many different areas, academic and otherwise. Still, his students' had voiced their honest feelings about how they felt that they were being treated unfairly, and he knew that there was no ignoring the rift that was apparently building between his students.

Professor Xavier then continued wheeling down the corridor to his study, so that he could ruminate about everything that was going on with his X-Men and their fight to oppose the Sentinels, and to also let his students continue their conversation in privacy. But, he knew that he would have to find resolution to this situation at the school, and that he would have to do so very soon.

"Hey guys, why don't 'cha check out what they've got on the TV now." Samuel Guthrie said to the rest of the group gathered in the living room, as he drew their attention back to the TV, "Jones, turn it up a little."

"It's 'remote-control boy' to the rescue." Jones Davidson humorously responded, as he sat on another sofa in the room with some of the other students, and proceeded to use his mutant ability that allowed him to manipulate electronic devices to adjust the volume on the large-screen television in front of them.

_"…I'm being told now what we are seeing in this piece of footage is of the famed Captain America, now aiding the military forces in Washington D.C., along with what can only be described as some kind of man covered in ice. At this time, we are unable to confirm whether this 'Iceman' is part of some new super-powered agency working under the auspices of SHIELD or the US government…"_

"**Alright, go Bobby**! Show those Sentinels and everyone else what a mutant can really do!" Amara Aquilla excitedly said, as the brownish-blonde haired girl watched her classmate transport one of the most popular figures in the world with him, via his ice-slide.

"Bet that'll put a big, dirty sock in the mouth's of those guys that say mutants are nothing but a public menace." J.E Richter now remarked, as the very brief shot of the two now came to an end.

But since that same clip was also being broadcast around the country, the image of the Iceman instantly caught the attention of two distinct parties, both of whom by happenchance were currently in the state of Massachusetts.

The first was one of the students at the prestigious Massachusetts Academy located in Snow Valley, Massachusetts, where Angelica Jones had been watching everything on a TV in the campus' student center. Angelica sat riveted by this Iceman, whose true identity she had no earthly idea of. She found herself captivated by the brave soul that would take it upon himself to use, what she could only assume, were mutant powers to risk life and limb to help stop those robotic monstrosities.

It was the very kind of thing that Angelica dreamed that she would one day be able to do herself, to use her own powers to help the world. Little did she know, however, that some of her very own classmates had gone to interject themselves into this situation, although an argument could be made as to just how altruistic their motives for going there really were.

The second party was a couple watching these historic events unfolding from the bedroom of their large suburban house located right outside of Boston. The couple instantly recognized their own son, covered in ice or not, when they saw him in the brief media clip alongside Captain America.

_"Well, you should see what Bobby can do..."_

Nearly one year after their son's then-girlfriend spoke those words to them, Mr. And Mrs. Drake were getting a televised demonstration of what exactly their son Bobby could use his mutant powers for, and they now saw it was to do a lot more than just cool a cup of hot tea. His abilities, which they had thought were simply a freakish mistake of nature, were now being used to help to save the rest of the world from the peril that the Sentinels posed.

But little did his parents, nor the rest of the viewing public, know that the fight in Washington was merely a warm-up, a prelude to what would prove to be the main event in this definitive showdown.

**…………………………..**

A fantastic aerial battle was now taking place over the skies of New Mexico, pitting the Sentinels against the combined aerial forces of SHIELD and the USAF. The Sentinels certainly had an unquestionable advantage with their ability to cloak themselves from the fighter jets radar, while the warplanes had a distinct tactical upper hand of their own by possessing far greater maneuverability in the sky. As their titanic clash waged on, another quarrel was brewing on the abandoned air base far below. But unlike the air battle, this contentious dispute currently taking place on the ground was of a decidedly different nature.

"**I should have you under arrest right now**!" General Jake Fury loudly laid out for Magneto, as they, the SHIELD strike force, both X-Men teams, and the Brotherhood had all went and gathered inside of one of the nearby abandoned aircraft hangars, "On top of the Liberty Island incident and the numerous other criminal activities you've been involved in over the years, you're also wanted for your escape from the Triskelion Maximum Security Facility. Those guards you killed were good men, some of them with families back home."

"Then, we obviously have a widely differing opinion on what constitutes 'good men'." Magneto smirkingly replied, as he stood a few feet from Fury amongst the eclectic group.

By this point, Magneto had put his helmet back on and had drawn his lengthy grayish-purple cape around himself, all while his Brotherhood consisting of Pyro, Blob, Toad, Avalanche, Roulette, Boomer, Frenzy, and Empath stood steadfastly behind him. Magneto's tone was as unimpressed by Fury's indictments, as it was defiant of those laws that SHIELD had sworn to uphold.

"Like you'd even know what it means to be a good man!" An unusually vocal and angry Rogue now said, as she stood alongside Gambit and the rest of the X-Men inside of the hangar and inserted her own opinion of Magneto into the conversation, "There're some of us on the mutant side of the barn that wouldn't be bothered in the least if they went and tossed ol' bucket-head there into the deepest, darkest hole you can find."

"And there are some of us that'll make damned sure that never happens!" An equally vocal and emotional Pyro retorted to Rogue's statement, as he then used one of the flamethrowers attached to his wrist to shoot a flame directly up into the air, forming it into the shape of a hand holding a long broadsword.

"**That's enough, all of you**!" Storm demanded with a startlingly thunderous boom that could be heard from outside of the hangar, as she went and stepped into the middle of the circle that the group was standing in and immediately took control of the conversation," We have neither the time, nor the luxury of debating any of this at the moment. If we don't do something, and do it rather quickly, the Sentinels will ensure that your discussion is little more than a moot point!"

"Storm is right, stopping the Sentinels takes precedence over any of our personal differences." Captain America added, as he and Storm helped to quell the situation, preventing an already volatile alliance from literally blowing up in their faces.

"Fine, I'm in agreement." General Fury replied, as he now acquiesced.

"Don't look at me, I'm not the one who started this particular debate in the first place." Magneto snidely stated to the group.

"In that case, let's move onto the business currently at hand." Agent Sharon Carter now said to the group.

"The key to defeating the Sentinels will be eliminating their leader Mastermold. But, destroying it won't be easy, it's going to take all of our combined powers and efforts to do it." Cyclops stated, as he addressed the small crowd.

"Well, let's stop talking about and get to it." Agent Clay Quartermaine eagerly said, as the SHIELD agent made sure that the dark-blue bandana that he had around his forehead was securely tightened, and also made sure that the large semi-automatic firing weapon in his hands was fully loaded. Then, everyone started moving out to go face the Sentinels and their towering leader in the underground base.

As the group left the hangar and made their way over to the massive entrance of Project Wideawake, one member of Magneto's Brotherhood took distinct notice of one of the X-Men and decided to make small talk with her.

"Aren't you a little young to be out here playin' superhero? I mean, I know girls start doing certain things way earlier than guys, but come on." Avalanche said when he caught up to Shadowcat, as she walked towards the access door alongside Colossus, Havok and Jubilee.

"**No, actually I'm not**! And what's it to you anyways?" Shadowcat sharply replied, as the expression on Colossus' steel-armored face after hearing the off-hand comment could figuratively, and literally, rip a hole right through Avalanche.

"Nothin', I was just makin' an observation is all." Avalanche told her with a huge grin, as they all continued he went ahead to walk alongside Frenzy and Empath.

As the group moved on, their number suddenly increased by one when a loud 'Bamf' sound was heard. It signaled the arrival of the last X-Men, who had been left behind on his team's Blackbird jet.

"It looks as though I am just in time for my close-up." Nightcrawler jested, as he had finally recovered enough from his teleportation jump in Washington D.C. to now come to the aid of his teammates.

"It's about time you decided to cut nap-time short and join the rest of us." Wolverine jokingly responded to Nightcrawler.

"I see that we also have some unexpected company." Nightcrawler now commented to Wolverine, as he took notice of Magneto, the Blob, and the rest of Brotherhood with the group.

When the troop finally made it to the entrance of Project Wideawake, they stood outside and instantly saw that it would be little trouble for them to get inside. When the Sentinels had blown the thick steel doors away, so that they could take to the sky and launch their aerial attack against the military planes above, they left the secured checkpoint wide open. But in all honesty, what had many in the group in pure awe was the fact that the entrance and its adjoining corridor measured in at an immense one hundred feet in height and in width, making it large enough to accommodate large transport vehicles along with numerous Sentinels entering and leaving the base. The assembled group proceeded to descend down the diagonal passageway, which cascaded downward at a vertical angle. The floor, walls, and ceiling of the corridor were all constructed from top to bottom with dense steel tiling panels, just like the rest of the facility's entire interior, and it was lit by a seemingly endless row of fluorescent rods.

After a somewhat lengthy walk, the opposition strike-force now found themselves in the very heart of the enemy stronghold. They also noticeably had their guard up, as they moved extremely cautiously through the winding labyrinth. They did so to make sure as to not unwittingly fall into any kind of booby-trap that the Sentinels may have laid out for them.

Soon, they came across an auxiliary computer terminal in one of the innumerable passageways, and Shadowcat instinctively went over to it. She then started typing on the terminal, hacking her way inside to see what interesting and useful information that she might come across.

"Are you able to attain access into their system?" Beast asked Shadowcat, as he was more than prepared to lend her a hand with his own computing expertise.

"Piece 'a cake, I had a tougher time getting those files from Stryker's computer. Right now, I'm looking at a map of this place. It says that the Mastermold chamber is here, that the central computer hub is about two levels below here, and that the detention center is over here." Shadowcat replied, as she pointed out the various areas to Beast, General Fury, Cyclops, Magneto and some of the others that were closely watching her from behind.

"It appears that they are holding most of the staff in the eastern end of the detention area, but they have conspicuously incarcerated Dr. MacTaggert and the director of this facility, a Dr. Stephen Lang, in the opposite western end." Beast said, as he read the detailed layout on the monitor before them.

"Then dat sound like a job for your's truly. If anyone can break them outta those jail cells in no time, it be me." Gambit said, as he volunteered to go rescue Moira MacTaggert and the rest of the individuals being held prisoner in the complex.

"Ah'll go with you, and give you a hand." Rogue added, as she also volunteered.

"Then that will make three of us." Magneto surprisingly announced, as he revealed his intention to join Gambit and Rogue.

"And what makes you think we're gonna turn this into a trio?" Rogue asked him in an annoyed tone.

"Because Moira is an old friend. She, Charles, and myself go back a number of years, and I think it only fitting that I help to liberate her." Magneto explained.

"Hmmph, Ah didn't think you'd even bother to care." Rogue replied, far from convinced of his sentiments.

"Well, while they're taking care of that, I'll phase down to the main computer room and see if I can delete the override on the heli-carrier." Shadowcat now stated.

"And I will be going with you." Colossus offered, as he stood close by her.

"Thanks, but everyone needs you up here to help deal with Mastermold. Plus, I can get down there a whole lot easier and faster without having to phase another person with me." Shadowcat responded, as she convincingly looked up at Colossus.

"Then, be careful, _Katya_." Colossus told her, as his pet name for Kitty inconspicuously caught the attention of Avalanche.

"Don't worry 'Tin Man', I learned to watch that first step way back on Muir Island." Shadowcat smiled, as she humorously reassured him.

"Then, the rest of us've got a date with one hell of a robot!" General Fury now proclaimed, as the SHIELD agents, the remaining X-Men, Brotherhood members, and all others in the group began heading down the corridor in the direction of where the Mastermold chamber sat. Meanwhile, Shadowcat, Rogue, Gambit, and Magneto all set off to go tend to their separate engagements in the facility.

**………………………………..**

"I am certain that this is it. I am not picking up any emotional thought patterns, save from those of us standing here outside of the chamber." The Brotherhood member codenamed Empath detected, as he stood with the group and used his mutant power to scan the immediate area inside of the Mastermold chamber for any traces of human emotional signatures.

Empath was wearing a silver and black uniform, with a matching mask that completely concealed his identity. Since he knew that his mutant mental abilities would be of little use in fighting against the Sentinels, Empath had brought along a semi-automatic assault rifle that he had borrowed from the Hellfire Club's security detail at the Massachusetts Academy, a weapon that the young, but expertly-skilled marksman was now loading and preparing for use.

"Get ready, I'm going to open the doors now." Forge said, as he had cracked open the security keypad right next to the huge doors of the chamber, and connected a small device to it. In less than a minute, the device had decoded the lock combination and the heavy blast doors were opening up, beckoning the group inward.

As they proceeded inside, the group saw that the room was completely dark, with the exception being a narrow pathway of white lights on both sides that ran down the center of the floor and ended at an enormous throne. Sitting on the throne was none other than Mastermold itself, with the self-sufficient Sentinel factory's gargantuan size making it appear to be as large as a building, all on its own.

Unexpectedly, the doors to the chamber abruptly slammed shut behind the group, sealing them inside. Then, the Mastermold spoke to them, with its thunderous and bellowing voice reverberating throughout the expansive room.

"**Insolent fools**! In spite of your best efforts, you have unwittingly walked into the very machination of your own destruction." Mastermold now said to the group, as the rest of the insanely huge chamber, which was probably about an acre or more in size, lit up and revealed the more than one hundred Sentinels standing in there with them.

"Well, it looks like you've finally got that fight you were wishing for." Polaris remarked to Wolverine right next to her, an instant before the Sentinels began firing at them and the group was forced to scatter and prepare themselves for the fight of their lives.

_Let the games begin…_

**……………………….**

Meanwhile, another game that had begun between its two participants back at a small train station in Westchester County was playing itself out as well.

"Ah don't much like you. At all." Rogue said, as she now told Magneto her feelings regarding him in no uncertain terms, while the two of them and Gambit made their way down another corridor, heading towards the facility's detention area.

"How ever will I recover?" Magneto sighed in reply, as he didn't even bother to turn over to look at Rogue and acknowledge her remark. His tone was so pre-occupied and unphased by her remark that it served to make Rogue just that much more angry at him, as they continued venturing forward.

Even though he had saved her and her teammates lives now on more than one occasion, Rogue still found it hard for herself to forgive, let alone forget, what Magneto had done to her. She kept thinking about how Magneto had literally ripped that train apart that night, how he had hurt Wolverine, the only friend that she felt that she had in the world at that moment, and how he had drugged and kidnapped a defenseless teenage girl, so that he could sacrifice her for his own twisted cause.

Rogue also remembered begging and pleading with him for her very life on the torch of the Statue of Liberty, and how those appeals fell on deaf ears as the Master of Magnetism proceeded to transfer his mutant powers over to her, and forced her to power a device meant to mutate the world's leaders gathered nearby. Every time that Rogue thought about the entire scenario, and about how she and Wolverine almost died up there, it made her blood boil and only increased the contempt that she held for Magneto.

While Colonel Stryker's attack on the school had been the primary motivation for her fellow squad-mates' decision to petition Professor Xavier to let them join the X-Men, Rogue's desire to never again feel as helpless as she did when Magneto and his Brotherhood spirited off with her was just as much of a factor for her wanting to join the X-Men, as was what Stryker had done.

But, the fact that she still harbored such a deep level of hatred and animosity towards Magneto was something that had also started to bother Rogue as well. Rogue's parents had taught her from an early age that it was wrong to hate another human being. They had told her that part of being a good person was learning to forgive those that may trespass against her. And it was a principle that she generally tried to live by, with the exception of this one particular case.

At any rate, as they journeyed on the trio spent the rest of their trek in silence. Eventually Rogue, Gambit, and Magneto did make it to the detention area, where they were met by a pair of Sentinels guarding the exterior entrance.

"**Halt mutants**…" Sentinel Unit 0574 said to the trio, as it and its counterpart scanned them for identification.

"You know, y'all startin' t'sound like a broken record wit' dat merry greetin' o' yours." Gambit playfully replied, as he held his metal fighting staff in one hand and swiftly pulled out a fistful of cards from his leather trench coat in the other, charging them before tossing them at one of the robots.

As the cards connected with the side of the Sentinel's head and heavily damaged its CPU unit, it soon fell to the ground deactivated and left the lone remaining unit to deal with the invading mutants. But, Magneto chose to make short work of the second unit by use of his magnetic powers. He quickly ripped one of the massive ten-foot by ten-foot steel ceiling tiles from its secure mooring and brought it down on top of the second unit, crushing it underneath the tile's substantial weight.

"Dis is almost startin' to be too easy." Gambit cockily said, as he gave himself a small pat on the back.

"Don't go gettin' over-confident 'Sugah', we still got alotta work left to do." Rogue reminded him.

"She is correct, there may be more of them in this area." Magneto said to the couple, as he turned his attention to Gambit, "I suggest that you head down to the eastern end of this detention center and free those imprisoned down there. Rogue and myself will go liberate Dr. MacTaggert."

"Why me and you?" Rogue very curiously questioned Magneto.

"Let's just say that the last meeting between Moira and myself was not a joyous occasion, and it ended tragically. She may not believe that I have now come here to rescue her." Magneto replied, as he put one of his hands to his side and slightly pushed back his cape.

"Gee, Ah can't understand why she'd have trouble believin' that." Rogue sarcastically remarked, as she and Magneto went ahead and started down to the western end of the corridor, while Gambit headed down to the opposite end.

But unbeknownst to Rogue, and true to her suspicions of the man, Magneto's conspiratorial plan was coming together perfectly. He was mere minutes away from fulfilling the real reason that he had come down to Project Wideawake's detention area.

And it was a plot whose precise nature had little to do with ensuring the safety of one Moira MacTaggert.

**………………………..**

Two levels below the Mastermold chamber and the detention center deep in the heart of Project Wideawake, Shadowcat had slowly and carefully made her way to the level where the central computer nexus was located. But in phasing down such a distance so quickly, she had somehow gotten disoriented. Shadowcat now unexpectedly found herself in another section of the facility that she had not intended to go to. She did recognize where she was, however, and set about the task of making her way out of the room that she was in, heading towards the exit and her ultimate destination. But, before Shadowcat was able to leave, something in the room managed to catch her attention.

Shadowcat realized that she was in some kind of research lab, with hundreds of strange and unusual looking animals in there. They were locked up in metal and glass cages in varying sizes in there. Then, Shadowcat walked up to the specific cage that had caught her eye, it was sitting on a row with dozens of others just like it in the dimly lit room.

"Poor fella." Shadowcat said, as she looked into the cage and saw that a cute white and black bunny rabbit was inside. She also saw that the glass cage had a sign on the outside stating that the bunny was as an experimental specimen, and that its origins were unknown.

Shadowcat felt bad for the adorable creature, and wanted to do something to help it. She proceeded to phase her hands through the glass door of the bunny's cage, so that she could pick it up to take it with her, setting it free once they were back outside.

But, just as she was about to take hold of the creature and pick it up, the bunny surprisingly growled at her and revealed its large fang-like teeth, as it hunched itself up into a semi-attack position. Shadowcat was so shocked and startled by the animal's actions that she impulsively jumped backwards, and fell right into another auxiliary computer terminal in the lab.

Since she was still phasing when she passed through the terminal, Shadowcat shorted out the electronic machine and accidentally caused all of the doors in the room, including the main door that led to the corridor directly outside, to open. Now free, the various mammals, reptiles, and birds, large and small, began to fly, flutter, and scurry in every direction in the lab as many of them left the room to venture out into the corridors of Project Wideawake.

Eventually, Shadowcat emerged from beneath the lab table that she had taken refuge under during the cacophony caused by the animals' flight for freedom. After helping to instigate such upheaval in the lab, Shadowcat figured that it was probably a good indicator for her to get going as well. She now briskly walked towards the room's exit that would take her to the central computer room, so that she could hopefully reclaim control of the heli-carrier back from the Sentinels.

But, little did Shadowcat know that as she left the room and headed down the adjacent passageway outside, some unexpected company was now trailing unnoticed a few yards behind her…

**………………………**

In the Mastermold chamber, the battle, no…the WAR raged on as the X-Men, SHIELD, and Brotherhood were proving to the Sentinels that they would have to overcome a great human obstacle in their bid for global dominance and control.

An excellent case in point was Iceman and Pyro.

It could be said that no two people could be as different personality-wise as Robert Drake and John Allerdyce were, almost to the point of being complete opposites in this and many other ways. Yet these two young men, who had each sworn themselves to fight for the dream and cause of Professor Xavier and Magneto (who they themselves were in essence polar opposites) found themselves working in tandem together.

"I hope you know what you're doing. I'm corralling as many of these Sentinels as I can from the others." Iceman said to Pyro, who was right behind him, as they traveled together on his ice-slide that was winding its way around the giant chamber.

At Pyro's request, Iceman was using his ability to freeze the moisture in the air by instantaneously dropping its temperature to sub-zero levels. He then began to create large and immense ice barricades throughout the immensely spacious and expansive chamber, blocking the robotic Sentinel units off into smaller groups from one another. Thus, the Sentinels were left in smaller sections separated from each other, as they were forced to face various combinations of the X-Men, SHIELD, and Brotherhood, and in a few cases found themselves at a great disadvantage against their flesh and blood adversaries.

But, what had Iceman worried was the fact that Pyro had him leave roughly about thirty Sentinels in their immediate vicinity, and he was having serious doubts as to whether just the two of them could handle such overwhelming odds.

"Don't worry, I've got everything under control." Pyro reassured Iceman, as they continued traveling on the ice-slide to avoid making themselves easy targets for the Sentinels.

With their section now barricaded off by ice-walls more than twenty feet high, Pyro then turned his wrist flamethrowers onto full blast. He then carefully shot small balls of fire on the floor of the chamber around the Sentinels in their section. In a matter of seconds, the balls of fire started to grow in size and in intensity, and began to take form. Not just any form, but to the Sentinel's horror, if cold mechanical constructs could feel such emotions as fear or pain, the fireballs grew to resemble giant Sentinels made of fire. Even though they were made from flame, with Pyro's telekinetic control they possessed a type of tangibility, and were capable of physically interacting with objects around them.

Which they did, as the dozen Fire Sentinels that Pyro had created began attacking the robotic Sentinels, both by punching them and also by hitting them with powerful blasts of flame. As the Fire Sentinels downed one foe after another by Pyro's mental command, the robotic Sentinels fought back by firing the energy weapons built into the palms of their hands. Although their energy bursts simply passed through the Fire Sentinels, the effect of their barrage did take a toll on Pyro. The Sentinel's counterattack caused enough disruptive feedback in the telekinetic fields he used to control the Fire Sentinels that it immediately resonated back to the brain of their pyrokinetic master.

Seeing this, Iceman suddenly stopped the ice-slide that they were traveling on and used his powers to create huge ice-spikes on the ground around the robotic Sentinels, positioning them to point up at a diagonal angle. With all of the sheer willpower that he could muster, Pyro was able to command his Fire Sentinels to push the robotic Sentinels onto the spikes, impaling them on the sharp ice creations. Pyro then mentally reformed his Fire Sentinels, dispersing them back into pure flame and having them engulf the robotic Sentinels pinned on the spikes.

Once their Sentinels were melted into slag, Pyro then collapsed and fell off of the ice-slide. He hit the ground about two feet below unconscious, having pushed his pyrokinetic abilities to and beyond their limit.

"Pyro, can you hear me?" Iceman asked, as he jumped off of the ice-slide and onto the ground.

"Uhhhnn…" Pyro moaned in response, as he still laid face down on the steel floor.

"Are you gonna be alright, man?" Iceman inquired of his former classmate and current ally, as he knelt down next to Pyro, all while the flames that Pyro had conjured up in their immediate proximity dissipated into thin air.

"Yeah, I'll be fine just as soon as my ears stop ringin'." Pyro replied, as he was now able to pull himself up enough to sit up on the metallic floor.

The strain of pushing himself was obvious, as Iceman saw that a small trickle of blood was running out of Pyro's nose, which he wiped away with his reddish-orange leather glove. Then Pyro looked up at the frozen ice-figure before him, looking through the orange-tinted lenses of the goggles that he was wearing.

"You know, we make a pretty good team. It's just too bad we can't do this more often." Pyro happily commented, as he spoke to the one person that had probably been the closest thing to a best friend he had ever had.

"Well, I'm not the one that took off for greener pastures with Magneto." Iceman grinned with his frozen smile, as he facetiously reminded Pyro of that fact.

After a few minutes, Iceman proceeded to help the fire-wielder back to his feet once he had managed to regain his bearings. Then, the two of them took off on his ice-slide to continue the battle with the Sentinels, and to help their friends. Together, Pyro and Iceman represented nature's two most extreme elements. But instead of standing opposition, Pyro and Iceman, Fire and Ice, managed to compliment and in a way complete each other's abilities, as they worked together towards a common goal.

Meanwhile Pyro's better half, although she would tell you in a second that she was the better-looking three-quarters, was also working towards a common goal with those individuals immediately around her.

Just to stay alive.

"So, Boom, you like plan on havin' any more of those grenades ready anytime soon?" Jubilee asked, as she plasma-blasted a Sentinel that she was currently dodging energy fire from.

"First, the name's Boomer. And second, I'm workin' on it, so quit actin' like I'm just bein' totally slack over here." Boomer firmly replied, as she continued to mentally conjure time-released plasma bombs in her hands with her mutant power.

Boomer then took off running towards one of the ten Sentinels in their barricaded section, dressed in a pink and white form-fitting leather uniform. She proceeded to toss the handful of small orb-shaped explosives, detonating as they landed around the Sentinels and inflicting some damage against them. But, the damage done wasn't enough to completely halt the robot's attack.

"Don't worry ladies, I've got you covered." Agent Quatermaine now told the girls', as he activated and then threw a thermite grenade device in the Sentinels' direction, watching as it leveled a couple of them when it exploded. Quartermaine then resumed firing the large machine gun that he was holding in his hands, as they continued fighting and dodging the Sentinels' blasts.

"Hey Boomer, I've got an idea before you toss anymore of your time-bombs in their direction." Roulette said, as the fourth person in this hastily put together sub-group spoke to her fellow Brotherhood teammate.

Like her namesake, Roulette was wearing a leather jacket and leather pants as her uniform, designed in a black and white color-scheme of a roulette wheel that cleverly wrapped itself all around her outfit. Roulette's mutant ability allowed her to produce small black and red poker-chip sized discs that affected probability fields in their immediate vicinity, and determined whether the recipient of the disc would receive a stroke of good luck, or would be beset with a bout of bad luck. The influence of Roulette's powers may have played a distinct factor in explaining why Jubilee, Boomer, Quartermaine, and herself had remained completely unscathed in their battle with the Sentinels thus far.

"Okay, so tell me what's this big idea you've got?" Boomer asked, as she now ran over to Roulette with another handful of small time-bombs.

"Just toss those time-bombs at 'em, and this time we'll see what happens when a little extra luck is put in the mix." Roulette explained, as Boomer proceeded to aim her time-bombs at the Sentinels just as she had done before. Then, Roulette threw a psionically-forged disc along with the explosives, and the two blonde girls watched as their teamwork paid off.

The explosive power of Boomer's plasma bombs had been made infinitely more destructive by Roulette's disc, and they, Jubilee, and Agent Quartermaine witnessed the complete obliteration of the remaining Sentinels' in their area.

"Now, THAT was kewl!" Boomer elatedly stated, as she raised her green-tinted frames up to make sure that she saw what she really saw, in regards to what her powers had just done.

"With the way you're able to swing odds in your favor, you should take your little trick out to Vegas and make some real cash with it." Jubilee humorously remarked, as she walked over to the two girls, while Agent Quartermaine stood and busily reloaded his weapon.

"Been there, done that. It's the reason why I'm not allowed within a hundred feet of a casino back home in Atlantic City." Roulette replied, as Boomer now saw that Quartermaine was ready. She used a well-thrown time-bomb to blow an opening in one of the far off ice-wall barricades, so that the quartet could go aid another group of their friends still fighting Sentinels.

In another non-adjacent section of the manufacturing chamber, Polaris and Havok had managed to reunite in the underground chamber, right before Iceman came sliding by and used his powers to separate everyone into smaller groups. He did so based on spur of the moment recommendations from Storm, Cyclops, and General Fury through their headset communicators that had been linked into everyone else's, and also by Pyro guiding him from behind through the chamber.

"This is starting to feel just like the old days again, you know, back when we were students and full-time X-Men." Havok said, as he blasted one Sentinel after another with the cosmically-charged energy bolts that he shot from of his hands.

"Uh-oh, 'surfer-boy' is startin' to sound a little nostalgic." Polaris playfully replied, as she also used her magnetic powers to short-circuit some of the Sentinels that the pair had been given to fight against.

"No, nostalgic is you calling me surfer boy, even though I haven't surfed competitively for a few years now." Havok stated, as he and Polaris continued to dodge and fight the Sentinels, all while managing to cover each other's back.

"Then, I take it our little talk isn't making you wanna go wax off your surf board as soon as we get back home?" Polaris inquired, as she stood back to back with Havok.

"Wax off? It looks like I'm gonna have to take you to the beach with me, 'Mr. Miyagi', so we can spend some time together ridin' the waves when the wind is blowin' offshore." Havok responded, as they continued a conversation that the casual observer would think to be a major distraction in such a high-pressure situation. But, talking in such a relaxed manner during combat felt completely natural to the couple, considering the fact that they had been trained for hours on end as teenagers to deal with hazardous circumstances such as these.

"Well then, it's a date. But, right now we need to move, **and move** **now**!" Polaris now told Havok, as she used her electromagnetic powers to manipulate the gravitational fields around them, and quickly levitate the both of them up into the air. It allowed Havok to blast the group of Sentinels from up above, and finish off the entrapment strategy that he and Polaris had employed against their robotic foes.

Just like Havok and Polaris, another pair also involved in this fray was strategically combating their opponents. But unlike their blonde and green-haired counterparts, their approach was a more straightforward tactic consisting of swift and blinding violence.

"It's like these guys're movin' in slow motion, especially if you compare them to what we went up against every day during our trainin' sessions in the Danger Room." Wolverine commented, as he used his adamantium claws to furiously shred through the lower sections of a pair of Sentinels with his up-and-close attack style.

"It seems that perhaps these inhuman monsters should themselves have been in training to face us instead?" The armored Colossus brashly replied, as he continued his own physical assault alongside Wolverine's, bending, ripping, and snapping in two any part of any Sentinel that he could get his organic-steel hands on.

"Speakin' of trainin', why don't you and me use that move we were workin' on in the Danger Room, before you took off to head home to Siberia?" Wolverine said, as he now stopped slashing at the Sentinel in front of him and quickly ran towards Colossus, "Pete, load me up for one of those Fastball Specials?"

"It would be an honor to oblige you, _Tovarisch_!" Colossus enthusiastically replied, as he grabbed Wolverine and picked him up. Then, Colossus spun around a couple of times almost like an Olympic discus-thrower, releasing his teammate with such momentum that Wolverine sailed at a high-speed through the air into a group of Sentinels. He hit them with his fists out in front of him and claws extended, easily slicing his way right through the mechanical constructs.

"That looks like fun, what do you say we try it?" Frenzy, the tall, athletic, super-strong, and nearly invulnerable member of the Brotherhood now asked, dressed in her sleeveless dark-blue tank-top and dark-blue leather pants. She had been using her formidable fighting skills to physically manhandle the Sentinels, in a fashion very similar to the one that Colossus had utilized.

"Sure sweet 'ums, anything to make your day." Blob replied in a slightly lecherous tone to her request, as the bulbous and unmovable mutant stood close by her, wearing his customary black tank-top and shorts that were trimmed in yellow.

Frenzy and Blob then mimicked what they had seen Wolverine and Colossus do just moments before, with Blob now launching Frenzy through the air towards the remaining Sentinels like a teenaged human wrecking ball, and watched as she demolished everything that was in her line of flight.

Meanwhile, the remaining X-Men, SHIELD, and Brotherhood members fought on, as they amazingly turned the tide of devastating numerical odds that had been stacked against them at the beginning of the battle with the Sentinels.

In one area, Nightcrawler, Toad, Agent Kate Neville, and Angel were working together and were able to best the group of Sentinels in their area. Nightcrawler used his teleportation powers, Toad used his powerful legs and agile leaping ability, and Angel used his soaring capability to all plant explosive discs on the Sentinels that had been provided to them by Agent Neville, and then they simply watched when the fireworks went off destroying their adversaries.

In another section, Beast, Avalanche, Thunderbird, Quicksilver, and Agent Sharon Carter along with a couple of SHIELD agents used a one-two combination of strength, speed, guile, and the ability to quake the very ground beneath the Sentinels to keep them off guard, while they took them down.

Lastly, Storm, Cyclops, General Fury, Forge, Captain America, and the remaining members of the SHIELD strike force thoroughly took the fight to the bulk of the Sentinels' number, which they had requested be left for them to handle. The Sentinels were showered in a hail of optic-blasts, lightning bolts, uranium-depleted bullets, a rifle that looked like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie, and an indestructible star-spangled shield, all promptly and efficiently decimating the robotic foes around them.

As the fighting in the cordoned off battlefield neared an end, the collective group would soon be moving on to its next main objective, destroying the Mastermold. Just then, General Fury received a call from one of his agents through his comm-device, but it wasn't from anyone in the processing chamber with him.

_"General Fury, do you copy?"_

"Fury here. What've you got for me Sitwell?" General Fury replied, speaking to the seasoned and senior agent who had been with SHIELD for decades now, and was currently still aboard the heli-carrier.

"We remain unable to alter the course of the heli-carrier from here, and we've just received word from NORAD that the President has authorized a tactical missile strike against the heli-carrier, once it reaches the proximity surrounding Project Wideawake." Agent Jasper Sitwell informed him.

"Yeah. I hate to see the heli-carrier meet an ending like that, but I'd sure as hell rather see it crash and burn before letting Mastermold get its clamps into it. Hopefully, the young lady we've sent to disable the Sentinels' override control'll come through for us, at least before they can re-arm the heli-carrier and turn its weapons against us." General Fury replied, "Sitwell, you and the rest of the agents onboard go ahead and begin evacuating the heli-carrier. In case we don't succeed here, at least there'll be no reason for that airstrike to be delayed."

"Yes sir." Sitwell replied, as he confirmed the order and then signed off so that he could set about the task of getting all of the SHIELD agents on the heli-carrier to their escape crafts.

By this point, the fighting with the Sentinels was wrapping itself up as everyone moved in and surrounded the dwindling number of Sentinels in the chamber, soon making short work of them. Once the last of the Sentinels were defeated, the group turned their attention to the Mastermold sitting high above at the other end of the spacious room.

As the allied team now made a swift dash towards the Mastermold, Cyclops suddenly stopped in his tracks and placed his hand up by his visor. He then unleashed the most powerful optic-blast that he could, aiming it directly at Mastermold and heavily damaging the upper-torso of the Sentinels' leader, as he punched a hole deep into it. The group thought that victory was now easily within reach, as they drew closer to the Mastermold and prepared to use their combined powers and abilities to deliver a deathblow to it, to the Sentinels, and to their dreams of world domination.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

The damage that Cyclops had inflicted on the Mastermold unit suddenly and inexplicably began to repair itself, akin to a robotic healing factor successfully doing its job. Mastermold then spoke, as it boomingly addressed its aggressors.

"Repair sequence now complete. By coming here, all you have done is merely stall the inevitable. Designate unit: Mastermold cannot be destroyed, **I CANNOT BE DESTROYED**! You will now be shown the folly and futility of any who dare to oppose us." Mastermold told them, as it stood up from its huge throne, displaying its staggering eighty feet in height, and started blasting massive energy beams from it's palms at them. Mastermold then slowly started marching towards them, coming down from the apex in the chamber where it had been perched.

The group was left with no other choice but to fall back in retreat from the Mastermold's fire. But, with the huge and thick blast doors of the chamber securely sealed, they were all unsure of just how far or how successful that retreat would be?

**……………………………**

Back in the western wing of Project Wideawake's detention facility, Rogue and Magneto had traveled the length of the corridor from the entrance, where they had faced the Sentinel guardians, and were now in the cellblock where Dr. Moira MacTaggert was being held.

"Any ideas on how to open it?" Rogue asked Magneto, as they stood directly in front of one of the cells, and she paid notice to the technologically sophisticated lock on the door.

"One comes to mind." Magneto calmly replied, as a casual wave of his right hand opened all of the cell doors on that row.

Then, the woman who hadn't been seen by her friends and family since her abduction from Muir Island, now appeared before them in the fluorescent-lit hallway.

"Dr. MacTaggert, Ah know we've never met, but Ah'm here to rescue you." Rogue said, as Moira MacTaggert stepped out of her cell into the corridor, dressed in a navy-blue, long-sleeved prisoner's jumpsuit.

"Och, even without seein' the bold, white streak in yuir hair or the uniform, I'd still recognize one of Charles' students. Ye're Marie, I remember readin' over the file Charles sent t'me when ye first arrived at his school." Dr. MacTaggert replied, as she surprised Rogue by instantly recognizing the X-Men's deputy leader. Then, Dr. MacTaggert took notice of the other party that had come along with Rogue.

"Now, I certainly din'na expect to have ye of all people comin' here t'my rescue, Erik." Dr. MacTaggert said, as she shifted her eyeglasses on her face and looked up at him.

"Just consider it a good-will gesture on my part, especially after what happened with your son." Magneto responded.

Then, the conversation was suddenly interrupted by a fourth person, who now came out to join them in the hallway of the detention area.

"All of the good gestures in the world won't influence my opinion of you people in any way." Dr. Stephen Lang now interjected, as he walked out of the cell that the Sentinels had locked him in, which was next to the one that Dr. MacTaggert had been held in, "Just the fact that I have to be rescued by mutants is at the pinnacle of my personal embarrassment."

"Why Dr. Lang, you're under the misguided notion that I've come here to rescue you. Quite the contrary." Magneto said, as he turned his full attention to Dr. Lang and finally revealed the real reason that he had come down to the detention area.

"Earlier this morning, I had a very interesting conversation, with a very interesting woman." Magneto continued, "You see, she is a gifted clairvoyant with the ability to foresee all possible futures for us. A great many of the potential timelines revealed to her had you, and your by that point in time vastly improved upon Sentinels, hunting down every homo-superior being world-wide, attempting to exterminate us all wholesale. As a child I swore that as long as there was still breath in my body that no such horrors and atrocities would ever befall my people again! I've come here this day to make good on that pledge, and to ensure that you never have the opportunity to fulfill that ultimate destiny."

Then, Magneto turned his attention back towards Rogue's direction.

"If I may borrow this for a moment?" Magneto rhetorically asked her, as the Katana blade strapped to Rogue's back started to quiver and then quickly shot straight up from its sheath, all before its owner could respond.

"**Hey, give that back**!" Rogue loudly demanded, as the sword now hovered in the air above them. But, before Rogue could react fast enough to try and grab the sword.

_Schhllacckk_!

In less than the blink of an eye, the sword sailed through the air plunging itself deep into the chest of Dr. Stephen Lang, as Magneto wrenchingly drove it right through the heart of the director of Project Wideawake, and the man that had also secretly revived the Sentinel program.

"You…you just killed that man in cold blood!" An outraged Rogue said to Magneto, as Lang fell hard to the ground.

"Come now, don't tell me that you are surprised by such brutal, but necessary measures. You do, after all, keep yourself in close association with the Wolverine. And, I do believe that this belongs to you." Magneto scoffingly replied, as he magnetically retrieved the blade from Lang and returned the now bloodied sword through the air to Rogue, "Now, onto the business of destroying this Mastermold abomination."

As Magneto then turned around and left, leaving Rogue and Dr. MacTaggert with the dying Dr. Lang laying on the floor, he passed by Gambit and the research staff that had just been freed by the Cajun X-Man down at the other end of the detention area. Gambit and the staff were met by the sight of Rogue holding the bloodied sword in her hand, and the gory scene next to her.

"**_Merde_, _Cheré_**! What'd you do down here?" Gambit asked her, stunned by the sight before him.

"**What Ah did was act like a total idiot, and let that asshole find a way to use me, again**!" Rogue angrily replied, as she threw her sword to the ground, which made a very loud clanging sound as it forcefully hit the steel-tiled floor, and displayed her rarely-seen fiery temper.

Not only was Rogue upset that she had been unable to stop Magneto from executing Lang, but she was also disgusted by the sense of violation that she felt from Magneto's tainting of her sword. The blade had been a heartfelt gift given to her by Remy and was something that she had come to deeply treasure. Today's events had simply added one more reason to a growing list of Rogue's for her to hate the man known as Magneto.

**……………………………**

Having left behind the chaos and disarray in the animal research lab, Shadowcat was back on track in her journey and had at last made her way over to the central computer hub in Project Wideawake. But, she was so focused on getting into the main computer room that she didn't see the four Sentinels stationed outside of the room's entrance, until it was too late.

Suddenly they appeared, surrounding Shadowcat in the open area outside of the computer room and blocking her entrance into it. If she had been nervous about facing the Sentinels again because of the anxieties that they seemed to rouse in her, Shadowcat unfortunately now found herself confronted with a scene that was hauntingly similar to the one that she had originally encountered on Muir Island.

Back on that night just a few weeks ago, the Sentinels ambushed and completely ransacked the Muir Island research facility. Shadowcat had come across a Sentinel while on a search inside of the island's research complex, amid the chaos of the attack and the battle taking place outside, and was trying to locate Professor Xavier and Dr. MacTaggert. By chance, she ran right into the very Sentinel that had just moments earlier located and captured Dr. MacTaggert in her laboratory, and was now carrying the unconscious doctor with it.

Upon seeing this, Shadowcat staunchly ordered the Sentinel to drop Dr. MacTaggert, with all of the posturing and bravado that she could muster. To which the Sentinel responded by lifting its hand, and firing a powerful energy blast at her. Luckily, Shadowcat phased herself through the floor just in the nick of time to avoid the shot, but ended up falling some thirty feet down to the facility's basement, injuring herself in the process.

When asked later by her fellow classmates about the gash on her forehead resulting from the fall, Shadowcat recounted her experience of running afoul of the Sentinel. But, whether it was because of a feeling of guilt or shame, Shadowcat completely concealed the details about Dr. MacTaggert being in that particular robot's clutches.

She had already seen first-hand how greatly Moira MacTaggert's kidnapping had affected her mentor Professor Xavier in the days following the attack, and how it had so traumatized Rahne Sinclaire that Moira's adopted daughter went into an emotional shutdown. Shadowcat felt that she had, in a way, failed in her responsibilities as an X-Man by not doing more to stop the Sentinel, and felt embarrassed because of it.

"**Halt mutant…**"

As the Sentinel now delivered, what had become a familiar and almost redundant order, Shadowcat briefly thought about fleeing from the situation and phasing through the floor to escape from these metal monsters. But, then she thought once again about her inaction on Muir Island, about the pain that it had caused those close to her because of Dr. MacTaggert's abduction, and about the nightmares she had of that night, which continued to haunt her long after she had returned home. She also thought about her conversation with Peter before they left this morning, and about how she knew that she couldn't live the rest of her life being afraid of the Sentinels.

So, Shadowcat decided that she was going to make a stand here and now, and face her trepidation about the Sentinels, win, lose, or draw.

"Alright buster, let's see what all of you are really made of." Shadowcat said in a low-tone, which was more for her benefit than for the Sentinels. She then prepared herself to run and jump at the Sentinel that was standing directly between her and the computer room's entrance. She hoped that her phasing power would be enough to shield her from the Sentinels' energy blast, and to ultimately get her past all of them.

But, before either she or the Sentinels could make a move, an admirer of Shadowcat's that had been following the young girl through the complex, now repaid a favor owed to her ten-fold.

"**Rooaaaarrr**!"

"What the…" Shadowcat asked in a puzzled tone, as she saw the Sentinel right in front of her go up in an intense burst of flame that came from up above. Then, she watched as the other three Sentinels surrounding her were also enveloped by fire, as all of them soon fell to the ground in smoldering heaps.

Automatically assuming that Pyro had caught up to her, and had used his firebird to decimate the Sentinels, just like he had done outside when he and the rest of the Brotherhood first arrived, Shadowcat intently looked around the open area outside of the computer hub for him. But, she didn't see her former classmate anywhere in sight.

Then she saw, IT.

Circling in the air above, Shadowcat saw perhaps the strangest creature that she had ever laid eyes on. If seeing a purple-hued lizard overhead wasn't bizarre enough, the fact that said purple lizard had wings and apparently had the proclivity to produce a fire-flame that measured in at the 'ten-second barbecue' range of the temperature scale, probably took the cake.

"So…uhm, thanks for helping me." Shadowcat now said, as the winged lizard that she had inadvertently freed from the research lab flew downward and hovered in front of her, slowly flapping its wings as it looked directly at her.

"Pfui!" The creature muttered in response.

"Look, I'd like to stand here and continue this really deep conversation with you, but I gotta get into that computer room and stop the Sentinels from using the heli-carrier to take over the world." Shadowcat told the creature.

Then, almost as if it understood what she had said, the creature started flying towards the computer room door, pausing in mid-air and waiting for Shadowcat to catch up and join it.

Which she, of course, did.

**…………………………….**

Down where the Sentinel production chamber was located, Magneto had traveled the length there from the detention area and now stood outside of the chamber's huge blast doors. All while an extremely desperate battle waged on inside between the X-Men, SHIELD, and his Brotherhood, all going up against the Mastermold.

Magneto immediately observed that the code-breaking device built by Forge had been connected to the security keypad next to the immense doors, and it had been used to open what was now a sealed entrance. But, rather than waste time in trying to decipher how to use the decoding apparatus, Magneto decided to once again use the most direct method that he could think of to gain entry into the chamber.

The foot-thick steel doors were within seconds pulled back like a peel on a ripened banana, as Magneto used his magnetic powers to separate them and reveal to him the fight going on inside. But, even the self-proclaimed savior of mutantkind was astonished at the sight of the Mastermold unit slowly marching towards everyone inside, firing its very destructive energy blasts at them as they were driven backwards towards the blast doors. They were fighting hard and threw everything that they had in the way of weapons and mutant powers back at the Mastermold, but it appeared to be to no avail. All that the now united humans and mutants were succeeding in doing was merely slowing the giant down, while they tired themselves out.

They were so busy with Mastermold that none of them had noticed Magneto's entry into the chamber, so he decided to announce his arrival with a powerful electromagnetic pulse wave aimed directly at the gargantuan robot. While the E-M blast was so acutely disruptive that it shorted out a majority of Mastermold's essential function circuits, due to its advanced repair capabilities, the behemoth unit immediately set itself to the task of fixing the damage that Magneto had caused.

Which meant that the group had precious little time to come up with a new course of action, before Mastermold would be back on the offensive yet again.

"It appears that my assistance and leadership is greatly needed here." Magneto sardonically said, as he walked down the small staircase into the chamber and over to where Storm, Cyclops, General Fury, and Captain America were.

"Leadership hell, what we need is to know how to destroy this thing." General Fury replied, as he continued firing off round after round at the Mastermold.

_"Hey, Cyclops, Storm, General Fury, um…somebody, this is Shadowcat. Do you read me?"_

"What news do you have?" Storm was the first to say, as she answered Shadowcat on her comm-link, while she continued casting bolts of lightning at the currently stunned Mastermold.

"I made it into the computer room, and I've hacked control of the heli-carrier away from the Sentinels. What do you want me to do?" Shadowcat replied, as she sat in front of the humongous computer terminal, with her newly found friend perched on the back of the large chair that she was sitting in.

"Good, turn it around and send it as far away from here as possible." General Fury immediately told her through their interlinked communication channel.

"Why turn it around? A vessel with the firepower that the heli-carrier possesses would come in very handy indeed in dealing with this Mastermold." Magneto pointed out, "And yes before you even ask General, despite the secrecy that surrounds its complete offensive capabilities, I'm well aware of what your vaunted ship can do."

"Kitty, just stay put. We'll give you further orders momentarily." Cyclops now told Shadowcat, as he continued firing his optic blasts at Mastermold.

"Then, we need to think of a way to use the heli-carrier's weapons against Mastermold, while taking into consideration that we're still extremely far underground." Captain America stated to the assembled leaders, with his star-spangled shield securely on his forearm, "We definitely can't fly it down here."

"Yeah, but we can bring Mastermold to it." Cyclops answered, "Havok, come with me and let's make a quick exit out of here. Storm, get ready to use your powers to create the most powerful wind current that you can."

"And you, I will need your help if we are to survive this day." Magneto now told Polaris, as he walked over to where she was standing.

"Okay bro, let's go to work." Havok said to Cyclops, as the two of them stood side by side and aimed at the ceiling up above. The combined impact of their optic-blast and cosmic energy bolts quickly burned through the ceiling and burrowed a hole, as they cut through solid earth all of the way up to the surface.

As the passageway out of the chamber was finished fairly quickly, Magneto had Polaris combine her magnetic powers with his and told everyone in the room to huddle closely together.

"You don't have to strain yourself. Allow the magnetic fields, the raw power of the very Earth itself, to flow around and through you. Feel it, then seize it and bend it to your will." Magneto said to Polaris, as he gave her a quick and impromptu lesson on the advanced use of her mutant ability.

The Master and Mistress of Magnetism both levitated into the air facing one another on opposite sides of the assembled group, as their powers fell in synch together. Then they went to the task of ripping up and reshaping the steel floor underneath everyone. They promptly reformed a tremendous chunk of the metal flooring into a protective spherical-shell, which they used to envelope the entire group with.

While Magneto and Polaris proceeded to lift the huge metal orb up into the air with them, Storm now used her weather-manipulating powers to create a gale-force wind current. With the breathtaking sight of the weather goddess' white hair and black leather cape flowing all around her, Storm increased the power of the upward draft exponentially and channeled it through the exit that had been provided by both Cyclops' and Havok's formidable powers.

The effect of Magneto and Polaris lowering the gravitational pull to near zero in the chamber combined with Storm's powerful air updraft, created a vortex effect that began to funnel everything not bolted down in the chamber upward. This phenomenon also affected a giant robot within the chamber that was nearly finished repairing itself, when it found itself now being sucked up to the surface of the New Mexico landscape.

After being shot out of the tunnel with tremendous force as a result of the vacuum effect, Magneto and Polaris safely guided and landed the steel cocoon hundreds of yards away from their exit point, and with Storm also landing close by. Meanwhile, Mastermold had been yanked out of its lair, but used the huge vertical boosters in its legs to slow its descent and allow it to land on the desert environment, not too far from the vast breach in the earth's surface where it had come out of. Then both parties looked skyward and saw the few remaining Sentinels battling with military jets in the air, and more importantly, saw that the fast approaching heli-carrier was nearly upon them.

"Alright Shadowcat, it's now or never. I radioed SHIELD high-command on our way outside as to what's going on, now I want you to reactivate the heli-carrier's weapons grid. Target every available gun-turret and missile-launcher on Mastermold." General Fury ordered her, as Magneto and Polaris had magnetically unfolded and opened up the metallic spherical ball that the group had used to ferry them out onto the desert landscape.

_"You got it!"_

With those words, Shadowcat typed the commands into the central computer terminal, and almost immediately unleashed a barrage of weapons fire against Mastermold, fire that was as lethal as it was destructive in its intensity.

Mastermold fought back, however, firing intense energy blasts of its own against the heli-carrier. But, Mastermold had reached a point of diminishing returns, as it was no longer hooked into the constant power source that was provided it inside of the manufacturing chamber, and now its repair systems were unable to compensate with the incredible amount of damage being inflicted on it by the heli-carrier's impressive armaments.

Within a few minutes of the beginning of the climactic firefight between the massive war-bird and the great giant, the flying fortress known as the SHIELD heli-carrier had been heavily damaged but was still very much operational in the air, while Mastermold now laid broken and shattered across the New Mexico desert.

As the last vestige of life flashed through Mastermold's cybernetic brain-circuits, the seemingly living personification of those that believed that all mutants should be eradicated from existence to ensure a safe world for normal humans, was no more.

**…………………….………**

The assembled SHIELD agents, X-Men, and Brotherhood members all stood in the desert together about a mile outside of the abandoned airbase, and watched as the last of the Sentinels fell to Earth, defeated by the combined airpower of SHIELD and the U.S. military's fighter jets. The significance of what they were bearing witness to hadn't been lost on any of the battle-weary observers. They knew full well that they had walked to the brink of having life as they knew it end, but they had taken upon themselves the challenge of stopping their robotic aggressors and had done the impossible against insurmountable odds.

They had won.

As a celebratory fervor began to encompass the entire group, a few of them felt that they still had some unfinished business to take care of before they could join in the revelry. Such as Iceman and Pyro, who were now walking off from the rest of the group to finally have a talk, which had been almost a year in the making.

At the same time Rogue and Gambit had left the underground complex of Project Wideawake along with Dr. MacTaggert through a secret hatch exit shown to them by the staff of the facility, and now themselves walked over to join their victorious companions. As they approached from the distance, Rogue, Gambit, and Dr. MacTaggert were taken aback by the spectacular sight off in the horizon of Mastermold laying in defeat, and also by the fact that all of these disparate factions had worked together to accomplish such a feat.

Rogue almost immediately spotted Iceman and Pyro walking off by themselves, watching two of her best friends immersed in what appeared to be a deep conversation.

"Ah'll be back in a minute Sugah, there's somethin' Ah need to go do." Rogue said to Gambit, as something came over her as well and she felt the need to go join them.

"Sho' nuff, _Cheré_, I'm gonna escort de good _Docteur_ here over t'where de party's at." Gambit understandingly responded, as he also saw Iceman and Pyro off in the distance. He and Dr. MacTaggert then went over to where Beast, Angel, and Nightcrawler were standing, while Rogue went over to join the two young men that had each played such very important roles in her life.

At the same time, other various conversations were taking place amongst the assembled group.

"It's almost uncanny how well we were able to use our powers in unison, and seemingly compliment one another." Magneto now said, as he and Polaris stood together staring out at the remains of the defeated Mastermold.

"It shouldn't be. I mean, you control the E-M spectrum, I control the E-M spectrum, it's just one of those co-inkeedinks that life throws at you." Polaris nonchalantly replied.

"The tremendous power that you have come to possess is by no means mere chance, or accident." Magneto told her, "Once you are able to master the intricacies of your abilities and refine them, you will find yourself able to completely manipulate and control this planet's very electromagnetic field. Had I discovered you before Charles, your talents would have already far surpassed mine by now."

"Well, I'm still getting along pretty well on my own. And if it's all the same to you, I for one am glad that the Professor was the one who found me first." Polaris somewhat coldly replied, as she didn't turn to look over at Magneto, but instead stood with her arms folded in front of her and continued looking out across the arid scenery, while her lengthy green hair flowed in the soft breeze.

**Meanwhile**…

"So Wolvie, what's the matter with you?" A curious Jubilee asked Wolverine, as she adjusted her yellow-tinted sunglasses and the two stood together amongst the sparse desert shrubbery.

"I'm just wonderin' why red, white, and blue over there keeps starin' at me like I owe him a twenty-spot. He's been doin' it off and on since you and the rest of Storm's half of the team got here." Wolverine replied, as Captain America was within earshot and heard Wolverine's comment.

"I guess it must seem pretty rude of me, and that's not what I had intended. It's just that you look a whole lot like a guy I knew once, a long, long time ago." Captain America explained, as he strapped his star-spangled shield to his back, and stepped off of the remnants of the steel-floor tiling that had been used by Magneto and Polaris to transport them out the Sentinel chamber.

"I doubt it. Even considerin' the mess that my memories are, I still think I'd remember runnin' into a guy walkin' around in a get-up like yours." Woverine stated, as this was the first and only time that he could ever remember meeting the famed hero face-to-face.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Captain America ceded.

But, Captain America couldn't shake the feeling that the man standing before him was the very same man that he had fought alongside during World War II, when he and the Canadian soldier had worked together to put a halt to a top-secret Nazi weapons experiment. The only thing putting doubt in Cap's mind was the fact that the soldier he had fought with would have to be much, much older by now than the man standing before him, and he was positive that particular Allied soldier didn't possess mutant claws that shot out of his hands.

"Speakin' of guys that you used to know a long time ago, Dad was asking me about you last time I went home on leave." General Fury now interjected and said to Captain America, as he had been approaching Cap, Wolverine and Jubilee, while overhearing most of their conversation.

"How have Nick and the Contessa been doing?" Captain America inquired.

Captain America was referring to Nick Fury, who during World War II had led an elite and one of the most decorated fighting squadrons called The Howling Commandos. He was also referencing Countessa Valentina Allegra De La Fontaine, who at the time was just a teenager aiding the French Resistance effort opposed to Nazi occupation of their country. Together, the three of them fought side by side at various times during the war, and even went on a few missions together battling the likes of Baron Heinrich Zemo, The Red Skull, and Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.

After the war was over, while those close to him believed that the first Captain America to have died on his final mission at the end of World War II along with his partner Bucky, Nick and Val were to reunite years later in the early 1960's during the formative years of the newly commissioned SHIELD organization. The pair worked well together, as they were kept busy helping to defend freedom against the new and varied threats that the world faced.

"Mom and Dad are fine, busy enjoying retired life splitting time between their home here stateside, and the chalet in France." General Jake Fury informed him, and revealed what else Nick and Contessa Valentina Fury had been busy doing during Cap's decades-long absence.

"Next time I have some free time, I'm going to have to pay that old war-dog a visit." Cap responded.

"I'm sure he'd like that." General Fury told Captain America, as Wolverine and Jubilee had already left to join some of the other X-Men, while another party came up and joined Cap and Fury's conversation.

"And where exactly are planning on running off to?" Agent Sharon Carter now asked in a very serious tone, as the blonde assistant director of SHIELD came up and faced Captain America, with the both of them standing close to a small cactus bush on the ground.

"Nowhere, at least not without getting clearance from you first, Agent Thirteen." Cap remarked to her, and did so in a surprisingly playful tone.

"You can dispense with such protocolic SHIELD formalities, and just call me by my name." Agent Carter now told him.

"I'm sorry, Agent Carter." Captain America smirkingly replied.

"I guess that's as relaxed as I should expect to hear from you, at least while you're on duty, Captain." Agent Carter sarcastically replied.

"Then, I promise to be more relaxed over dinner tonight." Cap told her.

"Is that a date then?" Agent Carter now inquired, with a slight smile.

"Only if you say yes. And hopefully this time we can at least make it through our appetizer, before duty calls and has us dashing off out of the restaurant to save the world once again." Captain America said, referring to a previous rendezvous of theirs.

"One can only hope." Agent Carter whimsically replied, as she then went on to the business that had originally brought her over to them, "General, our reinforcements are beginning to parachute in now."

"Good, the first thing I want is for them to do a clean sweep of the Project Wideawake complex, and make sure that there aren't anymore stray Sentinels lurking around. Once that's finished, I want that Mastermold unit completely dismantled and scrapped." General Fury responded.

**Elsewhere, but not too far away**….

"You're a long way from New Orleans."

"And you, you a long way from…wherever you come from."

"To be honest, you're the last person I'd expect to see here, especially in an X-Man uniform." Toad commented, as he and Gambit now stood off talking by themselves, "I knew the Thieve's Guild has dealings world-wide, but I didn't know they had anything as far north as Westchester."

"You know what they say, life it just full o' surprises." Gambit remarked with a smile, as he took out a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket and lit one, "Like de fact me and de Guild ain't on none too good o' terms at the moment. Plus, they got nothin' t'do wit' me bein' wit' de X-Men."

"You know, I didn't say nothin' earlier, but it seems to me that at some point it'd become a real conflict of interests for you to be workin' all of these different sides." Toad told him through his British-accented voice, as he sat semi-crouching on a rather large rock nearby.

"Get offa it already! I did one lousy job, a single pinch with you and Sabretooth, and you make it sound like we been close since we was knee-high. 'Sides, I didn't know what y'all was really up t'anyways." Gambit replied.

"Or maybe you di'nt want to know?" Toad posed, as he looked up and stared Gambit in the eye.

"What's dat s'pposed t'mean?" Gambit inquired.

"Just think about it. And think about what your new 'friends' are liable to do to you, if they find out what kinda games you're playin' with 'em." Toad answered with a sinister smile, as he then athletically leapt off of the rock.

As Captain American and all of the SHIELD agents began leaving the landing zone and heading back towards where Mastermold had fallen, so that they could join their parachuting compatriots, Quicksilver now found himself in a father/son reunion a few yards away, one that he could just as well have done without.

"Pietro." Magneto said, as he walked over to him.

"Erik." Pietro replied, with a very frosty reception for his father.

"I'm glad to see you again. I know that things have been…difficult between us ever since--." Magneto was saying, before he was quickly interrupted.

"You mean ever since the day that you were willing to sacrifice your own children to achieve your twisted ideals!" Pietro snapped back, as he looked over at his father, "Now, you have the nerve to ask us to come back and help you again. Wanda told me all about your little visit to her home."

"I've been very curious since I saw you as to why you are here, and without your sister here to aid you?" Magneto inquisitively stated.

"Wanda's gone back to Xavier's school, carrying out duties that are just as important as anything that we did here today." Quicksilver revealed to him.

"At Charles's school, is that so?" Magneto slowly continued to inquire.

"Yes, I believe that you said something to Wanda during your visit about us having to make a choice about the future. I think it to be obvious from her current location, and from the uniform that I'm wearing, what our response is." Quicksilver said, as he delivered the answer to his father's ultimatum, both for him and for his sister Wanda. Quicksilver then turned his back and swiftly walked away from his father.

Having been rejected by all of his children, Magneto knew that he would now turn his full attention to his Brotherhood, which was becoming an almost surrogate family that he was forging with a constant influx of new recruits.

**And not to be forgotten**…

"But, Ah still don't understand how you could follow someone like Magneto. You know the kinds of things he's done, both to me and to other folks." Rogue said to Pyro, as they continued a conversation that had been taking place simultaneously with all of the others.

"I'm with him for the same reasons that you guys are at Xavier's, we're trying to make the world safer for us mutants." Pyro replied, with his orange goggles now once again raised up above his forehead in a resting position.

"It's not the same, and you know it. Magneto's methods are totally different from Professor Xavier's." Iceman pointed out.

"Yeah, and I'd say they're a lot more effective. Professor Xavier just wants us to learn to control our powers, Magneto actually lets us use them." Pyro retorted, "And he doesn't mind it if we show them off either, as a matter of fact, he encourages it. Besides, Magneto's methods must not be too far off, we showed up here just in time to save half your team's asses."

"No, the difference between the Professor and Magneto is the same as the difference between right and wrong." Iceman continued.

"And you used to know what that meant." Rogue added.

"Whatever. After what happened in Boston with those cops, I decided that I'll be damned if I'm going to sit around and wait for someone else to put a bullet in my head before I stand up and fight back. I started to see that maybe me and Magneto were more alike than I ever realized, and that I wasn't cut out to be an X-Man like you two." Pyro told them.

"That's not true, you're nothin' like him." Rogue said to Pyro, "You can still leave the Brotherhood, and come back home with us."

"I know the Professor'd want you to come back." Iceman also told him.

"You guys aren't hearing me." Pyro responded to both Rogue and Pyro, "I don't want to come back to Westchester. My place IS with the Brotherhood now."

Then, someone emerged out of the desert ground a short distance away, catching the attention of Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro as their conversation came to a sudden and abrupt halt.

"What's that thing sitting on the back of Kitty's neck?" Iceman pondered aloud, as they all saw Shadowcat emerge from the lower levels of Project Wideawake to the ground level with them, and with a peculiar purple winged-creature positioned across the back of her shoulders.

Once they were topside, the creature took off into the air from Shadowcat's shoulders, breathing small bursts of fire as it flew in a circle right above her.

Shadowcat then went to slowly raise her forearm up in front of her.

The purple lizard immediately stopped the revolutions that it was traversing in the air above her and hovered there for a moment, hesitantly flapping its wings. Finally, the creature flew down and landed on her arm, almost as if there was some kind of unspoken bond between it and Shadowcat, which was as much instantaneous, as it was unexpected.

"C'mon dragon, there're some friends of mine that I want you to go meet." Shadowcat said, as she spoke to the purple dragon on her arm, and then the two of them went over to where Colossus and some of the other X-Men were standing.

"It looks like Kitty went and found herself a pet after my own heart." Pyro said, as he stood observing his former classmate and the fire-breathing animal interacting together.

As they watched Shadowcat walk off with her new friend, another party now came up and joined Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro.

"So, this is where you disappeared off to? I've been looking all over for you." Boomer remarked to Pyro, as the blonde-girl with thin red highlights in her hair came up and turned the trio into a quartet.

"I didn't disappear, we were just over here talking." Pyro replied, as he looked into Boomer's hazy-blue eyes after she removed her green-tinted shades.

"And what were you talkin' about that was so important?" Boomer amusingly inquired, as Pyro wrapped his right arm around her waist, and the two stood close together in an affectionate embrace.

Which, Rogue and Iceman took particular notice of.

"Tab, this is Bobby and Rogue. Don't you remember me telling you about them, and how tight we were when I was still going to Xavier's?" Pyro reminded Boomer.

"It's really nice to meet you." Rogue said, as she stuck her hand out to shake Boomer's.

"Um, yeah. I've just heard SOOO much about Westchester's most popular couple." Boomer replied, as she didn't bother to return the amicable gesture to Rogue, and continued standing with her arms wrapped around Pyro, before she then spoke to him again, "Mags said that we're about to leave. Not that this whole experience hasn't been really bitchin' or anything, but he wants to go before the time-limit on this truce with the SHIELD guys runs out."

"Alright." Pyro said to Boomer, as he saw the Brotherhood members starting to gather in the distance by Magneto, and knew the time had come for him to say his good-byes to Rogue and Iceman."

"I guess I'll be seein' you guys around." Pyro told them, as he made his departing statement, and then he and Boomer turned to go join the rest of the Brotherhood.

"Yeah, Ah guess we will." Rogue replied, as both she and Iceman wondered if their next meeting with Pyro would be as an ally and teammate like they were this day, or in battle with each other as an enemy and foe.

**Close by, as things were just about wrapped up**…

"…So, after I saw Mastermold get his butt kicked on the security cams, we came to join you guys up here." Shadowcat said, as she finished recounting for Colossus and Thunderbird how she met her new winged friend in the Project Wideawake facility below them.

"It sounds like you've just found a new sidekick for yourself." Thunderbird musingly remarked to Shadowcat in regards to her detailed account.

"Which means that you will have to find a name for your newly formed super-tandem." A currently unarmored Colossus also jokingly said to Shadowcat.

"How about Ghost-girl, and her incredible, marshmallow-roasting companion?" Shadowcat was able to humorously reply.

Just then, another observer of Shadowcat and the purple creature that was sitting perched on her right shoulder, came up to insert himself into their conversation.

"Looks like you got some pretty weird tastes in pets. Wonder if that goes for other things too?" Avalanche now commented to Shadowcat, as he was walking towards where the Brotherhood was and decided to make one last parting shot to her.

"**If you have something to say to the lady, then I suggest that it be of an appropriate nature. Else, the two of us will have a VERY serious probl**--" Colossus now shouted, his cheerful demeanor instantly gone as he loudly responded to Avalanche's comments, and started marching towards the Brotherhood's ground-breaking member. But, Shadowcat quickly stepped in front of the incensed Russian, so that she could find out for herself just why Avalanche felt the need to continue making off-color remarks to her.

"What is your deal anyways? Just because Storm said we had to work together, doesn't give you the right to make fun of me whenever you want, 'Chrome-dome'." Kitty stated in a perturbed tone, as she referred to the silver-colored helmet that Avalanche was wearing.

Avalanche's helmet covered the top half of his head, hiding most of his face and leaving just two eyeholes for him to see out of. This, along with a black and red leather outfit, made up his Brotherhood uniform.

"You used to didn't get all bent out of shape when I'd say stuff to you, 'Kitty Bo-Bitty'." Avalanche replied, with a huge smirk present on his face as he came and stood in front of her, Colossus, and Thunderbird.

"Wait a minute, how the hell do you know about that nick-name?" Shadowcat emphatically wanted to know.

"Easy. I mean, since I am the guy that gave it to you." Avalanche revealed, an instant before he removed his silver helmet and also unveiled his true identity to her.

"**Ohmigod, it can't be**! Lance…" Shadowcat gasped, as she put both of her leather-gloved hands up to her mouth, and felt as though she had, ironically, just seen a ghost.

Although it had been more than a few years and both of them were much older now, Shadowcat instantly recognized Lance Alvers' raw facial features and knew that it had to be him.

"Be seein' ya around, Pryde." Avalanche said to her, as he then put his helmet back on and turned to continue his brief jaunt over to where the rest of his Brotherhood teammates were waiting for him.

"_Katya_, do you know him?" Colossus came over and asked of her.

"Yeah…yeah, I know him." Shadowcat replied, obviously still shocked by the revelation, as the purple dragon remained perched silently on her right shoulder.

With the entire Brotherhood now assembled together, Magneto proceeded to use his awesome magnetic powers to levitate the entire group into the air by the ferrous fibers that had been specially woven into their uniforms. Then, Magneto, Pyro, Roulette, Empath, Toad, Avalanche, Boomer, Frenzy, and Blob made their exit to an awaiting helicopter parked on the other side of a nearby hilltop.

"I'd say that's a cue for us to get going too." Cyclops stated, as he stood by Beast, Nightcrawler, and Angel.

"And I'd better get back soon, because I'm gonna have a whole lot of explaining and sweet-talking to do once Candy gets a hold of me and wants to know where I've been for the last twenty-four hours." Angel remarked.

"Then let us depart from here." Storm agreed, as she came up and gave the command over the comm-link to the rest of the X-Men.

**…………………………..**

The X-Men crossed the distance from the empty grassland where they had been to the runway on the abandoned airbase where both of the team's Blackbirds were parked in seemingly no time. As they went to board the planes, Cyclops, Beast, Havok, Dr. MacTaggert, Polaris, Angel, Thunderbird, Quicksilver, and Nightcrawler got on one jet, while Storm, Forge, Rogue, Iceman, Gambit, Colossus, Jubilee, Wolverine, and Shadowcat-plus one got onto the other.

"Well, dat had to be de most interesting morning I t'ink I ever had. Y'all really know how to show a fella a good time, 'Stormy'." Gambit said, as he, Forge and Storm approached the ramp of their Blackbird.

"Then, you have a very peculiar notion of what makes up a good time. And, again I ask you, must you insist on calling me by that ridiculous name?" Storm replied, as she and Gambit walked behind Forge.

"Yep, I must insist." Gambit happily answered, as Forge suddenly came to a stop in front of both of them at the bottom of the ramp.

"After you…Stormy." Forge teasingly added, as he stepped aside to let the lady go up before him.

"Forge, one of him is quite enough." Storm smiled and responded, as she then went up onto the plane, followed by Forge, Gambit and eventually the other half of the X-Men.

Once onboard, both planes closed their entrance ramps, and their engines soon fired to life in preparation of their flight back home.

As Shadowcat sat down in one of the seats in the plane's middle section with her purple companion, Wolverine soon came walking by down the aisle, sans his cigar this time.

"I figured you'd be flying back on the plane with all of the grown-ups, instead of us annoying kids." Shadowcat remarked to him.

"When you really get down to it, all of you are basically annoying kids to me, 'Short-stuff'." Wolverine smirkingly responded.

"Pfff…" The creature sitting in Shadowcat's lap now snorted, as it looked up at Wolverine.

"Say, there're already enough big mouths in here. We don't need none of your lip, 'Bub'." Wolverine gruffly said to the purple lizard.

"Hey, don't talk to him like that! He's just trying to be friendly to you." Shadowcat protested in the creature's defense.

"So was I, Short-stuff, so was I." Wolverine smiled at her and at the fire-breathing lizard, "As a matter of fact, I was just about to invite that flyin' cigarette lighter to join me back in the smoking-only section. That is, unless you're plannin' on startin' another anti-smokin' campaign, and gettin' the both of us booted offa this flight."

"Ha-ha, very funny." Shadowcat responded in an unimpressed tone, getting Wolverine's reference to her earlier chastising lecture about him smoking his cigars on the plane.

"Have you decided what you are going to name that creature?" Colossus now inquired, as he came to sit down in the seat next to Shadowcat and give her a small kiss, while Wolverine continued on to the rear of the plane where most of the other passengers were. Meanwhile, Jubilee came up and took another seat across from the couple.

"I don't know. Any suggestions?" Shadowcat replied.

"How about 'Puff the Magic Dragon'?" Jubilee not unexpectedly proposed.

"**GRRRRR**!" The creature loudly grumbled, and showed its obvious disapproval for such a name.

Then, the answer suddenly came to Kitty.

"I know, I'll name him Lockheed." Shadowcat announced, to which the dragon in her lap seemed fairly receptive to.

"Just like in your fairy-tale." Colossus responded, as he let out a very loud laugh.

"Huh? What fairy-tale?" Jubilee now asked him.

"The one that Katya told to my little sister while we were in Siberia. I must say, it was quite imaginative." Colossus explained to her.

"Well, he looks and acts sorta like a dragon. And, he definitely rescued this damsel in distress." Shadowcat pointed out to them, "So, Lockheed it is."

"Uhm, I've got another question." Jubilee now brought up.

"What's that?" Shadowcat responded.

"How're you so sure that Lockheed is a he?" Jubilee raised an eyebrow and posed.

To find out, Shadowcat didn't hesitate to take the miniature dragon in her hands, and raise him up above her head.

"I guess I at least have a 50 percent chance of being right." Shadowcat jokingly smiled, as she inspected the lower torso of the creature to try and discover a definitive answer, but found none, "Besides, boy or girl doesn't really matter anyways, we're buddies now."

"Then, take a piece of advice from someone who used to have a chihuahua that was about the same size as your 'buddy' there. You keep holdin' him up above your head like that, and he might just give you a little surprise. Of the wet variety, if you catch my drift." Jubilee hinted to Shadowcat, as Shadowcat now didn't hesitate to put the dragon back down on her lap, and keep him there for the rest of the trip home.

Meanwhile, the collection of individuals on both planes continued on their trek home. This day, the X-Men had proven that they were heroes, and had shown that they were willing and ready to defend a world that still had a lot to learn about how to be big enough to accommodate ALL of its people.

Having guaranteed that they, both human and mutant, black and white, and every other way that people found to try and separate themselves, instead of looking for the common threads that bonded them together, would have at least have one more tomorrow to try and finally get it right,

Now came the hard part…

**………………………………….**

Next chapter: **Things to Come**…

**………………………………….**

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter-

**El Varon**- Glad you liked the update and the use of Machiavellian. I guess I'll have to see what other big, fun words like that I can pull out of my special grab-bag.

**Episodic**- Glad you made it through the long chapters. The format for the stuff coming up in future chapters should mean much shorter reads. But, I say long live the never-ending cliff-hanger!

**Montana Magic**- Thanks for the review and compliments, and I'm glad that you like things so much. And I do intentionally try to write in a way that anyone can follow what's going on, regardless of how much knowledge of the Marvel universe they may have, and still enjoy it.

**LucreziaNoin86**- Wow, two reviews in a row! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and the bar fight too, that was one of my favorite scenes also.

**Lucas'sgirl**- Sorry for all of the exorcist-type maladies I've caused in your life, but at least I hope that you still find this story entertaining. Yeah, with the Shadowcat/Wolverine, Shadowcat/Quicksilver, and the other various interactions, I wanted to display some of the pairings and meetings that may never take place anywhere else, and show how these characters might react to one another, so I hope you got a kick out of them.

**Independent Fire**- I know the last few chapters have been long, even to me, but I'm glad you stuck it out and am even happier that you liked them. As far as Pyro, I thought it was time for him to show just what he can really do in this fic too.

**TheDreamerLady**- Don't let the school work get you down, which I guess you've already figured out by partying a little on the side. Anyways, I appreciate the reviews whenever I can get them.


	13. Things to Come

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

**………………………………………..….**

Chapter 13- Things to Come

It had been almost a week since the attempted coup that had been carried out by the Sentinels, which had luckily been thwarted thanks to the combined efforts of the X-Men, the agents of SHIELD, and even a helping hand, ironically enough, lent by Magneto and his Brotherhood.

Now, the question on the public's mind was if the Sentinels couldn't be trusted to protect the general populace from those super-powered threats that ordinary law-enforcement organizations were ill-equipped to contend with, then who would take on shouldering that responsibility?

It was a question at the forefront concern amongst the world's governments, and in particular, with the United States' National Security Council. Currently, the NSC was convened in an assessment meeting with the very purpose of attempting to find an adequate solution to this matter.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. You can take your seats, and we can go ahead and begin." Secretary of State Genevieve Wright said, as she and the rest of the National Security Council had all gathered together inside of their secluded conference room, "First, I would like to take this moment to introduce everyone to Dr. Valerie Cooper. To those of you not familiar with her, she had previously taken on the responsibilities formerly held by the late Henry Gyrich. Dr. Cooper has now been appointed by the President to oversee the operations of Project Wideawake, and in light of recent events, to be his personal liaison and report regularly to him on super-human affairs. Which brings us to the reason for today's meeting."

"I'm surprised to hear that anyone is being assigned to Project Wideawake. Considering what the Sentinels did, I had assumed that the President would be more than eager to shut Wideawake down completely." Admiral Humphrey, a member of the Joint-Chiefs-of Staff stated.

"Not quite. He's definitely not happy in the least with what the Sentinels did, but instead of total abandonment, Wideawake will be undergoing a major and radical restructuring phase." Val Cooper replied, as the blonde new-apointee stood up from her chair, "Aside from the late Dr. Lang's private pursuance of the Sentinel initiative, Project Wideawake was originally established to study the phenomenon of super-beings and super-powered humans. The President understands now more than ever that remains an essential priority in regards to national security policy. Especially, since the number of super-people seems to be increasing daily, both through the mutant population and by other artificial means."

"Dr. Cooper is correct, we need only look at the most recent threat analyses conducted to realize just how precarious our national and the global security situation is." CIA Director Doslander added, as he turned the attention of everyone in the room to a large wall-mounted monitor that displayed various images and maps regarding the threats that they now faced, "Reports that just came across my desk this morning show that HYDRA is in the process of making one of its largest attempted power-grabs in decades, something which hasn't been seen from them since their original inception following the end of World War II. They've been very active of late in Eastern Europe, including the still unstable regions of the former Soviet Union, and around the Pacific Rim. Thanks to intelligence brought back by Captain America, we've confirmed that they're also making some major inroads into the Middle East and are trying to forge new alliances with terrorist cells operating there."

"That's just all we need after this Sentinel debacle, is for HYDRA to align themselves with one of these radical terrorist groups and pull off another 9/11-style attack against us or our allies." Secretary Wright commented.

"That scenario not withstanding, even in those areas where HYDRA has yet to infiltrate, we still have to be concerned with other rogue individuals and organizations on the move such as the Hand, Scorpio, and the Mandarin. Think about it, if HYDRA or one of these other subversive group were to raise an army of super-powered mercenaries loyal to them and to their cause of global domination, there's no telling the chaos and turmoil that they could create. Need I remind you of the fits that Lady Hydra gave SHIELD and Captain America, and she was only one super-person?"

"No, we remember all too well. We're only fortunate that Madame Hydra's top-ranking lieutenant has mysteriously been out of action for the last few years." Another member of the Joint-Chiefs, General Lazmand replied.

"I think it's time that we simply faced facts, the world that we're living in today is vastly different than it was fifty, twenty, or even ten years ago." National Security Advisor Smoudervick was the next to say, as he continued going over the threat analysis report on the large monitor before them, "In addition to old foes like HYDRA and Scorpio making a 21st century resurgence, new individual initiatives are looking to make a name for themselves as well. The threat that Werner Von Strucker's neo-fascist Death's Head movement poses, along with the general mayhem that his siblings Andrea and Andreas continually cause abroad with their own Fenris global network, are just a couple of examples of what we're facing and these're just the Strucker kids that we happen to know about."

"On the subject of super-powered people and general mayhem, despite what we've told the public, the mess that happened with General Ross and the Hulk is far from over. We can only cover up the Hulk's reported sightings in South America for so long, and it won't be too long before some conspiracy-nut starts spreading internet chatter about a new U.S. program that sent that big green monster down there to destroy the rainforests. We also need to take into account the actions of vigilantes, like this Spiderman in New York City. His battles with what the newspapers referred to as a 'Green Goblin', and with that psychotic rampage by the once esteemed Dr. Otto Octavius through the city, both caused extensive damage to the area from the ensuing carnage. Then, when you factor in other ones like this Daredevil character getting in on the act, it won't be too long before any person that can sneeze blue snot'll be in some kinda costume, and deciding to take the law into his or her own hands. Having the X-Men around, as necessary as they may be, is bad enough. But, we certainly don't need more like them springing up around the country." Homeland Security Secretary Guzman pointed out.

"Beyond these threats, we have to remember and take into account the shaky armistice agreements that NATO has with Doom in Latveria, and with Namor and his underwater armies of Atlantis, and what would happen if they ever decided to break from it." Secretary of Defense Martin said next, "But, a dictator in an iron mask and an underwater prince are nothing, when compared to what awaits us beyond the stars."

"You're referring to the extra-terrestrials, aren't you?" Dr. Cooper inquired, having been made privy to information regarding beings from other planets since her appointment.

"We've known about them for decades, and have been hiding their existence for just as long. Luckily, actual landings have been few and far in between, and those that we've encountered, like Captain Marvel, have fortunately turned out to be on our side. But, from the information that he gave to us, it's only a matter of time before this Kree-Skrull conflict that he described explodes on our very doorstep." Secretary of Defense Martin explained.

"I think what we need is a super-powered force of our own, in place as a contingency option to all of these threats." Dr. Cooper now advised the group.

"Well, what about The Fantastic Four?" Another advisor asked.

"The Fantastic Four have already stated that their services are always available to handle enemies that no one else is able to. But, Reed Richards and the rest of the FF4 have made it quite clear that they don't want to become permanently entangled in government constraints and obligations." General Lazmard told them.

"Why don't we enlist the X-Men? Considering the job that they did with the Sentinels, they seem quite capable of the task." Admiral Humphrey suggested.

"This fiasco with the Sentinels has been a public relations nightmare, and many out there in the public still think of the X-Men as nothing more than a group of mutant outlaws. What we need are people that the public can get behind so they can forget about all of this, a group of super-people that they can trust." Secretary of State Wright replied.

"Dr. Cooper just mimicked that very same sentiment, what are you getting at?" NSC member Jennings curiously inquired.

"I'm glad that you asked." Head NSC Advisor Smoudervick replied, as he turned his attention to the door of the conference room and buzzed for a special guest waiting outside to be shown in, "If you would all please welcome Tony Stark in here, we will shed more light on what we've been getting at, and what we intend to do about it."

"Mr. Stark, with your credentials and high-level security clearance, you are more than welcome to sit in with us and observe our proceedings. But, now seems like a very questionable time to do so." NSC member Jennings told him.

"I understand. No doubt, all of you have been discussing everything that happened with the Sentinels, and how to rectify this embarrassing situation. These recent events have shown the necessity for handling the new threats in the world with a vastly different approach than has been previously employed." Tony Stark began, as the wealthy, dark-haired inventor-extraordinaire and military contractor dressed in an impeccable gray business suit came in and stood at the front of the conference room, and started to address the members of the NSC, "What I have with me is a proposal, which I've already run by a few of you in here. I would like to get the rest of you on board with me, before I formally present it to President McKenna. What it entails is the creation of a new, international law enforcement and defense force."

"Is this new organization intended to replace SHIELD, and the duties that it currently performs?" Jennings questioned him.

"Not at all." Stark replied, "This new organization will be made up of a small number of individuals, an assemblage of the ultimate heroes if you will, that will be working in conjunction with SHIELD and will also operate under the auspices of the United Nation's Security Council through its own special-authorization charter."

As Stark went on to explain to them his plan to put together this new elite team, so in this time and place began the first chapter in the tale of Earth's Mightiest Heroes…

**……………………………………**

Location: Richmond, Virginia-The compound HQ of the Virginia branch of the Friends of Humanity, which now also boasts the proud distinction of serving as the campaign headquarters for Graydon Creed's U.S. Senatorial bid.

Within the FOH's expansive private compound, the Senatorial candidate himself was busy at work, planning, strategizing, and gauging public opinion along with his campaign staff and supporters. But, one supporter that had just arrived was highly dubious with his presence there, considering who he was aligned with both in the business world, and on a personal level.

"Senator Creed, I trust all is going well here." Cameron Hodge, the vice-president of Dynatech Industries, a subsidiary of Worthington Enterprises said, as he came into a large room in campaign central where numerous campaign staff and volunteers were busily making phone calls and going over the latest poll results and projections.

"Calling me Senator is a bit pre-mature, wouldn't you say?" Graydon Creed replied with a wide, self-satisfying smirk, as the brown-haired man dressed in a conservative black suit turned his seat and attention from the cable news feed on the large television in the room over to Hodge.

"Only if you're intending to lose." Hodge responded, as the blonde businessman in his early thirties and also dressed in dark-colored suit removed his glasses, and took a seat on a small sofa next to where Graydon was sitting.

Just then, Graydon Creed's campaign manager and public relations advisor came up to inform him of the latest polling news.

"Graydon, it's just as we expected. Public opinion is continuing to shift towards opposition to Mutant Registration legislation, although judging by the latest numbers, it suggests that they are still evenly split over whether mutants pose a significant threat to the general population." Duncan Matthews, who was also blonde and in his mid-to-late twenties informed them, as he had already removed his tan suit jacket and was now slightly loosening the tan and red diagonally-striped tie that he was wearing, "McKenna's lead over his opponent Governor Losberger is increasing daily now, most likely due to public sympathy over the Sentinels' taking him hostage. The latest rumor going around says that McKenna is now prepared to fully back away from, what had already been, his fairly moderate stance on mutant control legislation."

"At this rate, soon he'll be advocating an equal rights amendment for those freaks." Hodge remarked.

"I'm not concerned." Graydon simply responded to both Hodge and Matthews.

"Shouldn't you be? If the public gets behind such measures, it could spell doom for those of us that want to build a new world, safe from these mutants." Hodge told him.

"Cameron, don't worry yourself, or you'll start looking like an old man in no time." Graydon joked, as he looked directly at Hodge, "Just continue to make sure that preparations with your own private defensive force, The Right, is in order and that they're ready to take action in the event that they're needed, and leave all of the political posturing to me."

"How do you intend to counter those mutie-loving traitors like McKenna and Kelly? We have to do something, or we just might see one of those gene-jokes on a major political ticket themselves in the near future." Duncan Matthews unapologetically inquired.

"As I said before, I won't have to do anything. The public has a short memory, and the election isn't until the fall. That's months away, and a lot can happen between then and now. Just wait 'til the next time one of those muties decides to use their misbegotten powers to take their school hostage, or blows up an entire city block in the name of mutant rights, the public will be lock and step back with us. Hell, they might even beg us to bring the Sentinels back in full force to help deal with these… creatures." Graydon Creed revealed to them with a small laugh.

"Well, I'm all for doing something to get a handle on all of these mutants. I say if we can't get rid of them permanently, then we should just lock 'em all up and throw away the key." Duncan reiterated.

"Duncan, your hatred of mutants seems to go beyond just patriotic concern for the public, as though it were almost personal with you. Which, I for one can definitely relate to." Graydon said to his top P.R. man.

"Trust me, it is. Let's just say I had my eyes opened as a teen back home in Westchester. I had a run-in with a group of these freaks back there, and I saw first-hand just how dangerous they can be." Duncan revealed.

"Then, all the more reason for us to work harder, and guarantee that they no longer pose a threat to the rest of us decent and normal human beings." Graydon ominously responded, as he stood up to resolutely pat Duncan on the back, and reaffirm their mutual purpose regarding the future of mutants.

**……………………………………….**

Back at Charles Xavier's School for the Gifted in Westchester, New York, now that everything had settled down in the week following the battle with the Sentinels, a number of the residents had gathered together in Professor Xavier's study in an attempt to unlock a mystery that had been baffling them for most of that previous week.

"Well, I think the answer t'be obvious t'the whole lot o' us by now." Dr. Moira MacTaggert said to the group gathered in the study, as they all stood around the Professor's large wooden desk and examined Lockheed on it, "Ye're the proud owners of a miniature, purple dragon."

"See Daddy, I told you he was a dragon, just like in the fairy-tales." Megan McCoy chimed in, as she sat in a chair towards the rear of the room, and listened to the conversation taking place between her father and the other older individuals in there.

"Yeah, 'Daddy', we told you so." Kitty Pryde humorously added, as she smiled and stood close to Dr. MacTaggert, repeating Megan's comments to Dr. Henry McCoy.

"No one is doubting the fact that our winged, reptilian friend here does indeed resemble a dragon. But, dragons are merely myth, and do not occur in nature." Hank replied.

"Then, try t'convince Lockheed here that he doesn't exist." Dr. MacTaggert sarcastically told him.

"My question is where he could have come from?" Professor Xavier wondered next from behind his desk, "The Savage Land perhaps?"

"While Pietro and I were a part of Magneto's Brotherhood, our father did have us based in the Savage Land for a brief time. But, I don't ever recall seeing anything resembling small, fire-breathing dragons while there." Wanda Maximoff-McCoy stated to them, as she stood in front of the desk next to her husband.

"Neither do I. But, the Savage Land is a vast and expansive terrain, and we were only allowed to explore and observe a small portion of it." Pietro Maximoff also revealed, as he stood by the large window close by in the room.

Pietro, Hank, Moira and Wanda were all dressed in casual clothes and jeans, and were each wearing a medium blue, light-weight windbreaker with an 'X' insignia on the shoulder that the X-Men sometimes donned, in lieu of their more formal leather uniforms.

"Although my telepathic powers still aren't completely up to par, I do sense a higher order of thinking in this creature, even to point where it is able to shield it's mind from my mental probes. What we could have here is some new form of a mutated reptile?" Professor Xavier surmised.

"Well, in our line of work and research, we of all people should be more than prepared t'stumble across a new species every now 'n again." Dr. MacTaggert responded.

"Hear that Lockheed, it sounds like you're one of a kind." Kitty said to Lockheed, who was standing on all fours on the table and was looking up at all of the individuals gathered around him, "And if Lockheed really is rare, then that means he needs to be protected. So, can we keep him here with us, PLEASE?"

With his student's request posed to him, Professor Xavier sat in his chair for a moment in silent contemplation, before finally responding to Kitty's inquiry.

"As long as you're willing to take responsibility for him, including feeding and cleaning up after him, then I have no qualms about it." Professor Xavier gave his approval, which brought a very delighted smile to Kitty's face.

"It's not as though you had much of a choice, my most compassionate mentor." Hank now said to the Professor.

"What makes you say that?" Professor Xavier asked in response.

"I doubt that there is an animal shelter capable of properly caring for Lockheed, or that would be very successful in adopting an unusual creature such as he into a home that is any better suited for him than this one. I don't think very many parents, save those already here at this school, would consider a fire-breathing dragon to be a very child-friendly pet." Hank replied with a smirk.

"Oh, Lockheed is just a big softie, aren't you fella?" Kitty said, as she picked Lockheed up from the table to cradle him in her arms while she spoke to him, "C'mon, let's go to the kitchen and find something for you to eat. Only this time, no torchin' the stuff that I pick out for you just because you don't like it."

"**CanIcome, canIcome**, pleeaase?" Megan excitedly asked, as the vivacious, brown-haired little girl hopped out of her seat and wanted very much to join Kitty and Lockheed on their short trip to the kitchen.

"Go ahead honey." Wanda smilingly gave her permission, as Megan immediately shot across the study to where Kitty was, and soon left the room with her and Lockheed.

"I suppose that we should also get going and finish our final preparations, all in anticipation of our departure later this evening." Hank said to Wanda, Pietro, Doctor MacTaggert, and Professor Xavier, the only individuals currently left in the study.

"I din'na know how I can ever repay ye for comin' back t'Muir Island with me and helpin' t'rebuild it. After the Sentinels ransacked the place, I'll be fortunate if I'm able to dig up halfa handful of a research staff willin' to come back there. Not that I blame them in the least." Doctor MacTaggert stated, speaking specifically to Wanda, Hank, and Pietro.

"The four of us, plus Sean and Forge, all working together should have your facility back up and running in no time." Wanda replied, "Speaking of Sean and Forge, I'm going to go see if they've finished their maintenance check on the Velocity, and if they are ready for us to start loading our things onto it."

"Not to worry, we should have everything on that craft in no time." Pietro told them.

"Thanks, in no small part, to your expeditiously accelerated abilities." Hank remarked, referring to Pietro's quick reflexes.

"You don't have to stand out there listening in, you're more than welcome to come in here and join us, Rahne." Professor Xavier abruptly voiced his out-of-the-blue invitation, as he was able to telepathically detect one of his newest students standing in the hallway right outside of his study.

"I wasn'a tryin' to eavesdrop, honest. I only came t'talk t'Miss Moira, but I did'na want t'interrupt yuir conversation, sir." Rahne Sinclaire timidly replied, as she then took a few small steps into the room, dressed in a simple melon-colored sweater and tan pants.

"Then, I think it appropriate to allow the two of you to have a moment of privacy together." Professor Xavier proposed, as he proceeded to wheel out of the room, followed by Hank, Pietro, and Wanda.

"So, what did ye want t'talk about?" Moira now asked Rahne, as the door to the study closed shut behind those exiting.

"I've been wonderin' if ye just have t' leave? Ye could stay here and do your research work." Rahne implored of her adoptive mother.

"We've been through this." Moira replied, as she put her arms in a comforting embrace around the pre-teen, and spoke in a tone that understood the reasons why Rahne was anxious about their impending separation. Moira then went to sit on a small sofa in the study, with Rahne coming and sitting down right beside her.

"Muir Island serves an important purpose in tryin' t' better understand mutant genetics. Right now my place is there, just like your place right now is here tryin' to learn how t'better control those powers of yuirs." Moira continued to explain.

"But, ye've barely come back after those Sentinels took off with ye. I know ye have important work to do back home, but I'm gonna miss ye an awful lot when ye leave." Rahne replied, as Moira looked into the young girl's bright green eyes and could tell that she was almost on the verge of tears at the thought of Moira's journey back home.

"Oh moppet, it'll be okay." Moira supportively told her, as she gently kissed Rahne on the forehead and slowly ran her fingers through the girl's short red hair, "Once things're settled on Muir, I'll be back here t'check on how ye're doin'. And, you'll be comin' there to visit me too. Ye can even bring along some of the new friends that ye've made here, includin' that blonde-haired young man I saw ye eyein' at dinner last night."

"Who, Sam? I wasn'a doin' any such thing!" Rahne bashfully protested, as she blushed a little and tried to convince Moira that her attention the prior evening was indeed elsewhere, albeit unsuccessfully.

"Okay, if ye say so." Moira smiled, as she let the subject drop and continued to hold Rahne close to her in a reassuring embrace on the sofa.

While they had been planning and discussing the future visits between them, at the moment all Rahne and Moira wanted to do was relish and enjoy every bit of the remaining time that they had together in the here and now, as they sat on the sofa in the study and continued talking.

Just as any mother and daughter would do…

**……………………………………**

Elsewhere in the mansion, Logan was currently occupied with a search of his own for another of its older residents.

"Say Ali, you haven't seen Kurt around, have you? I been lookin' for him." Logan asked Alison Blaire, as they crossed paths with one another in the first-floor corridor outside of the living room.

"Kurt's probably still in his room. He's been holed up there for most of the day." Alison replied.

"Then, I guess I'll go and see what that's all about." Logan told her, as he continued on down the hallway. He was heading towards one of the ancillary elevators that went up to the second floor of the mansion, dressed in his usual rust-colored lumberjack's shirt and blue jeans.

After the short ride, and an even shorter walk to the men's wing of the dorm area, Logan found himself standing outside of Kurt Wagner's bedroom door.

"Kurt, you in there?" Logan loudly inquired, after a few brief knocks on his door.

"_Ja_. It is open." Logan heard in response, as he turned the knob and opened the door.

Logan promptly entered the very dimly lit room, which had the window-blinds drawn almost completely shut. He then looked up above to see that Kurt was hanging upside with his eyes closed, wearing a black sweatshirt and pants. Logan saw that Kurt was dangling just by his tail from the jungle-gym apparatus built into the ceiling of his bedroom, which the two of them had constructed and installed up there together. It was so that Kurt could run through his acrobatic workouts whenever the urge would hit him, day or night.

"So Kurt, this supposed to be some new kind of meditational prayer method you're workin' on, what with it bein' all dark and tranquil in here? I guess it's nice to know I ain't the only one tryin' to get into that kinda stuff." Logan postured, as he closed the door and stood leaning up against a nearby wall in the shadowy room.

"Nothing as profound as that, _mein freunde_. I've just been in here thinking, that's all." Kurt replied, as he continued swinging upside down on the high bar by his tail, with his arms folded over in front of him.

"Well, that can't be good. Anything important?" Logan tried to humor Kurt.

"Just take a look at that stack of returned mail sitting over on the table by you." Kurt told him, as he pointed over with his eyes still closed.

Logan then turned his eyes over to the desk in the room and saw a shoe-sized box that had freshly unwrapped shipping paper next to it. Inside of the box was an ample accumulation of mail, which had all been bound together with a few rubber bands.

Due to his enhanced senses, Logan had little trouble in seeing in the dark the delivery information that had been written on the outside of the envelopes in the box, and instantly recognized Kurt's handwriting. Logan was also able to look back up and still see the barely visible Kurt hanging from above, who because of his mutant powers had the ability to cloak himself in the shadows and virtually disappear from sight.

"These're those letters you wrote to that Amanda girl." Logan said, referring to Amanda Sefton, the young woman back at the circus that Kurt felt a deep level of affection and fondness for.

Or to be more straightforward, Amanda was the girl that Kurt had been head over heels in love with for quite some time now.

"What gives, I thought you two were pretty cozy pen-pals?" Logan continued with his line of questioning.

"Pen-pals, yes. But, apparently she has decided to go with a more lucrative option in the getting pretty cozy department." Kurt responded, as he pulled another envelope out of his front pants-pocket and tossed it down to Logan, "Here."

Logan looked at the envelope in his hand, and saw that it had been addressed to Kurt from a Margali Szardos. He immediately recognized the name from the conversations that he and Kurt had about his early life, and knew that Margali was the woman that had found Kurt as a baby, and had raised him to be a performer in her traveling circus.

"You sure you want me lookin' at your personal stuff like this?" Logan inquired, as he unfolded and held the envelope in his hand.

"I would not have given an opened letter to you, if I didn't want your prying eyes to partake of it." Kurt replied, as he managed a small smile to accompany his remark from his overhead perch.

With that, Logan opened the envelope to see what was inside that had apparently made the usually jovial Kurt feel so somber and glum.

_Dear Kurt,_

_I've been meaning to write to you for quite some time now, but I haven't been able to find the right words to say what I know I must. SO, I will just say it._

_For the last year, our performances have been continually drawing smaller and smaller crowds, and a couple of months ago I had to close the circus because things had gotten so bad financially. _

_And before you go and start blaming yourself, don't. _

_I completely understand and respect why you couldn't come back to join us. It is true that there are people out there that still think of you only as the mutant that tried to kill the President of the United States, even though that Stryker man brainwashed you into doing it. They most likely don't care that the U.S. President did issue an order afterwards to have all charges against you dropped. Those anti-mutant bigots would still use any reason that they could find as an excuse to harm mutants and the people close to them. I didn't want you to put yourself in danger by venturing back into the public eye so soon afterwards, just as you said that you didn't want to put us in any danger by returning to join us._

_But, one of the reasons that made this letter difficult to write is because I must inform you that Amanda left from here not too long after the circus closed, running off with Marsal for who knows where. I had been hoping to hear from her, so that I could forward your most recent letters to her. But no such luck, I haven't heard from her for weeks now. So, I am returning the last letters that you've written to Amanda, unopened. But, there is something else I feel that I must say to you._

_Ever since that night when I first found you as an infant, I have raised you as my own. You are just as much a son to me, as Amanda is my daughter. Lately, I've had time to think about things while you've been gone, and to really think about you and me. I now see how wrong it was of me to exploit your appearance by having you play the role of the Devil in those circus performances. I should have taken your feelings and devout beliefs into consideration, and thought about how doing such a thing night after night would affect you. As you always liked to remind me, God made you look the way that you do for a reason, and I am certain that it wasn't just to sell out circus shows in one town after another. All I can ask is that you forgive me for whatever pain that I might have unintentionally caused you because of it, and I hope that you now find your true purpose at that school that you are living at. Perhaps, you were meant to end up there, to spread the joy and light that you naturally bring with you, because I know that you have always brightened my life with your presence. _

_And who knows, maybe one day I will come to visit you and see for myself just how well this new life of teaching suits you?_

_ Love always, my little Nightcrawler,_

_ Margali_

"Wish there was somethin' I could say to make things better." Logan sympathetically said to Kurt, as folded the letter and put it back in its envelope, sitting it on the desk next to the others.

"I appreciate that. And, I do suppose it is the thought that counts." Kurt replied, as he finally opened his eyes and teleported down from the jungle-gym, reappearing right in front of Logan, "At least now I know why I haven't heard from Amanda for so long."

"Even if I don't have that much to say, if you wanna talk about things, I'm all ears, Bub." Logan told his closest friend, one of the few men that he felt truly understood some of the things that he had gone through in his own life, particularly with regards to Weapon X.

"Okay, but first I think that I will finally take you up on your offer to buy me a drink." Kurt surprisingly said to him.

"Alright, I've got a healthy stockpile of beer stashed in the fridge in my room down the hallway." Logan replied, as both of them started towards the door, "Say, from now on sittin' here with you in the dark just ain't gonna cut it. You're gonna need to invest in gettin' you some mood-lighting, or somethin' in here."

"Mood-lighting? Ha, that's what I thought I had done." Kurt smiled, as he responded to Logan's joking remark, while the two of them continued out of the dark room and into the hallway.

**…………………………………**

For Bobby Drake, life getting back to normal for him following the defeat of the Sentinels meant resuming his normal weekly routine. So, as he made his way out to and entered the school's car garage, he went over to the silver Honda Civic that he generally drove when traveling by himself, all while carrying a moderately-sized brown cardboard box with him.

But, today he wouldn't be quite as alone as he might have expected.

"Ahem…"

The startling utterance in the silent garage caught Bobby completely by surprise, as he turned back around to see none other than Rogue sitting on the front of the hood of one of the SUV's parked in there.

"Oh, hi Rogue. I didn't see you sitting there." Bobby said to her, as he walked over towards the SUV where she was, dressed in a blue and white baseball-styled jersey and a pair of denim jeans, "Um, why are you sitting there anyways?"

"Just hangin' out. Your session's today, isn't it?" Rogue inquired with a smile, as she sat with both hands behind her for support and leaned slightly back on the hood of the vehicle, crossing one leg over the other. This day, Rogue was wearing a dark-green sheer silk blouse with matching gloves, a black tank top underneath the almost see-through blouse and a pair of black jeans, and had her hair tied back into a single, long ponytail.

"Yeah, I was just on my way to see Dr. Lykos now." Bobby confirmed, referring to the weekly therapy sessions that he had been attending, while he held the taped up box with both hands.

"Good, because Ah don't want us to be late." Rogue stated, as she then slid off of the front of the SUV, with her heavy hiking boots making a noticeable thud as she landed on the garage floor.

"Us? You're gonna go there with me?" Bobby slowly questioned her, surprised by her offer.

"Ah meant what Ah said that night out at the boathouse. Even if we're not dating anymore, Ah'll always be your friend and be there for you." Rogue reiterated, as she came and stood right in front of him. All Bobby could do in response was stand in awe of this girl, who was able to find it in her heart to still be concerned about him despite how much he had hurt her.

"Okay." Bobby smiled, as he then turned to head back over to the Civic parked a few feet away from them.

"So, what's in the box?" Rogue curiously asked, as she took notice of the large carton that he was carrying with him.

"Some of the things that John left behind, mostly clothes and some other personal stuff. He did have a lot of journals, though, which is kind of weird when you think about how much he seemed to hate school." Bobby revealed.

"Hmm, what did he find to write about?" Rogue queried Bobby.

"I don't know, I never looked through any of them." Bobby told her.

"You mean to tell me that they sat in your room for almost a whole year, and you didn't peek inside one of them. Not even once?" Rogue asked.

"It just didn't seem right. I guess I figured that if he wanted me to know what he was writing about, then he would've told me." Bobby explained.

"That shows a lot of self-control on your part." Rogue said, as she gently elbowed Bobby in the side.

"Well, going out with you definitely helped to teach me that." Bobby responded with a smirk, as they made it to the car and he opened the trunk with the small remote on the key-chain in his hand.

"Ah imagine you're sending this off to him at the Massachusetts Academy?" Rogue assumed.

"Yep, it's going there first class, and in care of St. John Allerdyce." Bobby remarked, as he put the box in the trunk and closed the lid, referring to the name that John had been enrolled under at the Massachusetts Academy, "I swear, you'd think hanging out with the Brotherhood that John would've been able to come up with a better alias than that."

"Like what?" Rogue playfully challenged him, as they each went and opened the driver and passenger's side doors of the car.

"I don't know, Johnny Blaze maybe? Anything would've been better than St. John." Bobby replied, as he sat down in the car seat and cranked the ignition.

As Bobby and Rogue soon sped off in the car, so began in earnest a new phase in their relationship. It was one where the two of them would hopefully come to learn what the true meaning of friendship was, and how that would really translate between two individuals who at one time had been so much more to each other, and had been so for so long.

**………………………………**

Meanwhile, as they watched the two young adults exit the estate grounds in the silver car and turn out onto the winding road that led out of Westchester County, Professor Xavier, Scott Summers, and Ororo Munroe soon went back to the conversation that they were having in the estate's garden area.

"…I believe that the sight of all of you, of all of my X-Men, united together to be something that I shall carry with me always." Professor Xavier said, as he sat in his wheelchair at an outdoor table with Ororo and Scott.

"It will undoubtedly rank up there with the other amazing sight of the day, when Magneto and the latest incarnation of his Brotherhood swooped in to aid us, and in particular with witnessing Pyro's advanced exhibitive use of his abilities against the Sentinels." Ororo stated, as she sipped her beverage from the glass in front of her on the table.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we might not have beaten the Sentinels without their help." Scott reluctantly surmised.

"Indeed. And in spite of our obvious differences, they were instrumental allies. But, one must wonder how long such an arrangement will last?" Ororo remarked.

"I would hazard to guess that such an accordance will only last between us and them until it no longer suits Erik's own intentions for mutantkind. Which begs the question, what does the future now portend for both this school and for the Massachusetts Academy?" Professor Xavier posed to them.

"I think the better question is, what does the future hold for the students at both schools, and for the next generation of mutants as a whole?" Scott expounded upon, with a somewhat foreboding omen for tomorrows that had yet to come…

**…………………………………..**

To be continued in **The New Mutants**…

**…………………………………..**

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter

**The Toaster**- I will certainly take that under advisement.

**Montana Magic**- Glad you liked it, and I hope you did well with your French final, Mon Ami. As far as the future, you just never know what'll happen, but I think it will be worth sticking around for.

**ishandahalf**- Glad you liked the action-packed stuff, and it looks like your paranoia-sense did it's job well. I'm also glad that you liked Lockheed'd big intro, I thought it would be the most fitting way to bring him on board.

**Episodic(?)**- Sorry to hear about your stories, but I can't wait 'til you get them back up. I'm also glad that I was able to catch you a little off guard with the Magneto thing too.

**El Varon**- Glad you liked the addition of Lockheed. And as far as Bobby and Angelica are concerned, their story has barely even begun. So stay tuned, because some pretty Amazing things are in store for them…

**TheDreamerLady**- Candy Southern? Yep, the one and only. As far as Betsy goes, I'm sure she's busy in England right about now pursuing a lucrative modeling career. Although, when your brother is the famed Captain Britain, it's only a matter of time before you'll get caught up in the super-hero biz too, so keep an eye out for that in the future.

**Independent Fire**- Glad you liked the conversation pieces at the end. All will be revealed in due time, both with Remy's mysterious connections from the past and with Kitty and Lance's more than casual acquaintance.


End file.
